ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The City of Albany has received a $75,000 grant from the Department of Environmental Conservation to plant 120 new trees in the West Hill and Arbor Hill neighborhoods. To kick off the initiative, a Bald Cypress tree was planted at the entrance to Swinburne Park near the largest Bald Cypress tree remaining in New York State.

In 2020, Mayor Kathy Sheehan launched the 2025 Tree Planting Initiative. The goal is to have 2,025 trees planted by 2025. At the end of 2022, 1,753 had already been planted.

“The City of Albany estimates that more than 1,000 street trees have been lost to various factors since 2008,” said Mayor Sheehan. “That is why it is so important that we are receiving this grant to help enhance our tree cover to both combat climate change and create more shade for our residents to reverse the impacts of heat island effect.”