What We Do
TreeUtah works with students, municipalities, local businesses, community groups, and volunteers to plant trees in public spaces throughout the state. We plant trees of all types and sizes to make Utah a greener place to live, work, and play.
Our Community Tree Planting program helps make our schools, parks, and other spaces beautiful and inviting by planting and maintaining large trees. With newly planted trees, these areas will help improve the air, lower temperatures in our cities, and even reduce crime.
To ensure the health of natural ecosystems, our Ecological Restoration volunteers help plant thousands of native trees and woody perennials along riparian corridors like the Jordan River. We also work on reforestation efforts on National Forest Service lands such as in Little Cottonwood Canyon and Big Cottonwood Canyon in Salt Lake County.
Our Mission
TreeUtah is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to improve Utah’s quality of life for present and future generations by enhancing the environment through tree planting, stewardship, and education.
To fulfill this mission, we seek to educate our community about the environmental and social benefits that trees provide. Trees improve our quality of life in multiple ways. Trees renew our air supply by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. The amount of oxygen produced by one acre of trees equals the amount consumed by 18 people annually. Trees lower air temperatures by releasing water vapor through their leaves and shade trees can make buildings up to 20 degrees cooler. Trees also improve water quality by slowing and filtering rainwater, as well as protecting aquifers. These are just a few of the benefits that trees bring to our communities.
TreeUtah has planted over 400K trees with the help of more than 185K volunteers and donors around Utah.
Our History
TreeUtah was the brainchild of a Salt Lake Tribune journalist, Pepper Provenzano, in 1988, and became a nonprofit in 1989. Since then, thousands of volunteers, staff, and board have stepped forward to nurture and grow the organization and its mission. We’re proud to lead a statewide effort to match volunteers up with projects to plant more trees in Utah!
Learn more at our Founder's Retrospect.