This section of the SUNY Empire website is no longer being updated.

View current SUNY Empire Stories.

November 4, 2015

Large Trees Planted for Sustainable Saratoga’s Centennial Trees 2015 Program

The Tree Plantings Recognize the City of Saratoga Springs’ Year-long Centennial Celebration

Operations Director Rick Reimann, standing at left, and Sadie Ross, director of environmental sustainability, look on as employees of Grasshopper Gardens, Inc. plant a white oak on the lawn of 2 Union Ave., as part of the college’s donation to Sustainable Saratoga’s centennial trees program.
Rick Reimann, standing at left, and Sadie Ross, director of environmental sustainability, look on as a new white oak is planted on the lawn of 2 Union Ave.

‌‌Two white oaks, a red oak and a basswood tree have been added to SUNY Empire State College’s locations at 2 and 3 Union Ave., Saratoga Springs, N.Y., as the college’s donation to Sustainable Saratoga’s Centennial Trees 2015 Program.

The program is one in a year-long series of activities and events that mark the City of Saratoga Springs’ centennial celebration.

Large trees provide far greater economic and environmental benefits than small ornamentals do because of the amounts of air and water pollution they reduce and because large trees store far more carbon, which mitigates climate change, according to Sustainable Saratoga.

The nonprofit organization also states that trees beautify the city, increase property values, enhance the profitability of retail and restaurant businesses, provide habitat and food for wildlife and, in a 2012 city study cited by Sustainable Saratoga, the city’s $120,000 tree budget returned benefits and savings to the community of more than $1 million.