Sandy Springs Joins One Million Trees Initiative

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — During its July 21 meeting, the Sandy Springs City Council approved a resolution accepting an invitation from Trees Atlanta to partner with them on their One Million Trees Initiative. Trees Atlanta launched the One Million Trees Initiative earlier this year with the intention to protect and plant one million trees in the Atlanta metropolitan area by 2030.

Participation in the One Million Trees Initiative requires the city to:

• Provide education on the initiative and the benefits of trees in general
• Develop a baseline inventory
• Maintain or expand tree planting activities and look for opportunities to protect forested land
• Regularly report progress to Trees Atlanta

Newly planted trees, and those existing on property acquired for public purposes, count toward the one million goal.

To date, the city has already implemented a number of initiatives that will fulfill the requirements. A partnership with Trees Atlanta was established two years ago to plant trees in residential front yards, and the program expanded in the 2019-2020 planting season to include trees in public rights-of-way. Thanks in part to this effort; an estimated 1,000 trees have been planted by the City of Sandy Springs since 2018. Residents can sign up for the fall planting season online.

At the city council’s January annual retreat, the council adopted the planting of at least 300 trees in 2020, as an official priority, underscoring the city’s commitment to protect and enhance the tree canopy, which is a component of the Next Ten Comprehensive Plan (2017). The city tracks tree plantings on an interactive story map, accessible online.