Trees planted downtown ahead of Colorado Springs’ 150th Anniversary in July

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Celebrations are already underway for the Colorado Springs' 150th anniversary coming up in July of 2021.

City leaders, including Mayor John Suthers, gathered at Alamo Square Park to plant two red oak trees in honor of our city and its founder.

Colorado Springs was founded back in 1871 by General Willam Jackson Palmer. It was nearly treeless at the time, but Palmer changed that by planting thousands of trees in our city.

City officials are carrying on that tradition through the "COS 150 Tree Challenge", which aims to plant 18,071 trees by the end of 2021.

As of mid-April, about 5,000 new trees were planted within city limits.

“We found out the combined urban force of the city scrubs $100,000,000 worth of pollution out of the air every single year," said Dennis Willis, City Forester with Colorado Springs Parks and Recreation. "It’s monetary as well as aesthetics. Certainly [at] any of our parks, if all the trees were removed, wouldn't be as aesthetically pleasing to visit.”

The Broadmoor Garden Club donated $10,000 to plant the two red oak trees. City officials said a lot more red oak trees will be growing around the city, as they fare well in our city’s ever-changing weather.

The city forestry division estimates they will plant around 500 trees themselves by the end of 2021.

More on how to participate in the COS 150 Tree Challenge here.