'Up With Trees' Busy Planting In Downtown Tulsa

We're celebrating trees this month in Oklahoma. You'll see "tree tags" popping up along downtown Tulsa sidewalks where new trees have been planted.

There are more than 160 new trees downtown with hundreds more on the way.

What in the world is a tree tag, hum? It's not a price tag - more like a value tag. They're designed to give passers by, like these guys going to lunch, an idea of what those trees will do for the community.

"There are lots and lots of empty tree wells in downtown Tulsa," said Steve Grantham.

Steve Grantham is the Operations Director of Up With Trees. He and his crews are filling some of those tree wells up. They've planted more than 160 new trees downtown since the first of the year.

It's all part of a program called Tree Downtown Tulsa. The ultimate goal is more than 500 new trees along downtown streets.

The tree tags are part of the project. There are seven different statements about the value of trees in a community.

"This is helps improve social connections," Grantham said.

That and provide shade, cleaner air, and improve property values. They've done a great deal of research into what kind of trees will work best and where. Some maples, across the way Frontier Elm. 

"We want the right tree in the right place. We want it to look pretty, but we don't want it to cause problems," said Steve Grantham of Up With Trees. 

Later in the month, an extension of the program will encourage people to adopt a tree in honor of someone - like one near the PAC by the Klein Family.

Wonder if those ladies know what those green collars are - it's the "Hey, What's the Deal?" moment for me. They're called Gator Bags. Each one holds 20 gallons of water which seeps out gradually. They keep the tree well watered for a longer time.