Hartford's Free Tree Program: Cooler, Greener City

0:00Hartford's teaming up with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on a free tree planting program to cool down the city and fight health issues. The Capital Forest Stewardship Initiative lets residents get trees planted right in their yards at no cost, tackling high asthma rates in summer heat. That's 19 degrees hotter than nearby spots. Storms often overwhelm the sewers here, flooding streets with raw sewage, but more trees can soak up that rainwater and clean the air. It's dead simple, just head to the Hartford Free Trees website and sign up, especially if you live in priority areas like Northeast, Blue Hills, or Frog Hollow. The city's forestry crew already manages nearly 28,000 trees, which over the next 20 years will lock away millions of pounds of carbon, cut pollution worth over a million dollars, and prevent 87 million gallons of storm runoff. After this week, Mayor Arunan Arulampalam, hyped it on social media for Earth Day, stressing how trees drop temps, boost air quality, and stop floods.

1:03With their roots, this push is turning Hartford greener, one yard at a time, building a healthier spot for everyone to breathe easy and stay cool. That's the story for today, Hartford News Today, Driven by AI. I'm Corey with The Story.