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SRP to fund planting of 14,000 trees to celebrate Cardinals TDs
Trees to be planted in areas destroyed by forest fires
Not only did the Arizona Cardinals pull out an exciting win in overtime over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, but their final game-winning touchdowns will help plant thousands of trees in northeastern Arizona.
SRP pledged to fund the planting of 1,000 Ponderosa Pine trees for every Cardinals' touchdown scored from Nov. 20 until the end of the season. With the addition of the two touchdowns scored in Sunday's game, SRP will plant a total of 14,000 trees.
"SRP and our customers are working to reforest Arizona lands destroyed by fire through the Trees for Change program," said Lori Singleton, director of Program Operations at SRP. "Hundreds of thousands of Ponderosa Pine seedlings have been planted through this program, and we thank the Cardinals' efforts on the football field for helping us plant thousands more."
The trees will be planted in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, in the area destroyed by the 2011 Wallow Fire as well as the portion of the Coconino National Forest devastated by the 2010 Schultz Fire. The two fires destroyed a total of 550,000 acres.
"Today, as you drive through these areas, it is clear that there is still much to be done to bring these forests back to their original beauty," Singleton said.
During their lifetime, the 14,000 trees will remove carbon dioxide from the air, store carbon in plant tissues and produce oxygen, thereby helping to decrease the impacts of global warming. Over the next 50 years, the trees will also sequester enough carbon dioxide to offset one year of electricity usage for 2,700 households.
SRP customers can help to revitalize the forest by signing up for the Trees for Change program. Customers can pledge an additional $3 or more to their monthly bill, and SRP will match each dollar up to $160,000 annually, with 100 percent of the funds used to plant trees. So far, more than 2,000 customers have joined the program.
For more information, call (602) 236-4425 or visit www.srpnet.com/trees.
