Tulsa's Up With Trees To Plant Over 2,000 Trees By 2021

Up With Trees is planting more than 2,000 trees along I-244 and Highway 11.

They said that area is Tulsa's gateway to the world.

They've been planning it for several years now, but the project itself began this fall. They said when it's all done, you'll notice the difference.

Osage Sky News 6 shows that some of the trees along I-244 are already in the ground. It's part of a project that'll stretch from 244 and Peoria to Tulsa International Airport.

When the 7.5-mile-long stretch is finished, drivers will see more than 2,000 new trees.

"Just imagine what it's going to look like years from now," Up With Trees Executive Director Steve Grantham said.

Grantham said it's been in the works since the vision funding a few years ago. They've been cleaning up overgrowth on miles of fence-line since the fall before planting the new trees.

He said there's nearly two dozen types of trees, all designed for Oklahoma weather.

"So, we've got Pines, Holly's, Junipers from the Evergreen standpoint, several different types of oaks, Maples, Chinese Pacifics, Redbuds and Veitch's. All those different things, all to work together to make sure we're putting on a pretty good show," Grantham said.

The first portion includes about 1,500 trees. When they get funding for the rest, it'll put the total close to 2,300.

"It'll be one of the first things people see when they fly into town, and then when they leave downtown it'll be one of the last things," Grantham said. "That's what we want people to think about Tulsa; that we take pride in our community. That it's beautiful and things like that.”

They hope to have the entire project done by the end of 2021.