Soil and Smiles: Del Norte neighbors make tree planting community affair
Phoenix homeowners planted their trees in a morning-long event
By Carsten Oyer
A sign for the Del Norte Place Historic District on March 22.
PHOENIX — Residents of the Del Norte Place Historic District gathered on March 22 to plant trees in their yards, courtesy of grant funding from the city of Phoenix.
Residents of the Del Norte Place Historic District used a tree planting event on March 22nd as an opportunity to connect with neighbors and enjoy each other's company. As the city works to increase shade canopy, neighborhood leaders are bringing homeowners together to make an impact, both environmentally and socially.
This video was written and produced by Carsten Oyer. All video and audio are original.
Thank you to Alison Price and Michele Smith for agreeing to be interviewed. Thank you to the Del Norte Neighborhood Association and Keep Phoenix Beautiful for allowing me to attend the event.
This video was created for my multimedia package for JMC 305 at the Cronkite School at Arizona State University.
With in-person guidance from officials like Kayla Killoren, the city’s tree equity project coordinator, members of the Del Norte neighborhood learned how to plant and maintain trees in their yards.
Homeowner Alison Price said the neighborhood received funding from the city, allowing many residents to receive trees.
Michele Smith, the secretary of the Del Norte Place Neighborhood Association, said the trees were meant to replace trees that had become too old or which were being hurt by excessive heat and disease.
​
Jhenifer Shipe, the President and CEO of local nonprofit Keep Phoenix Beautiful, said the organization came to the Del Norte neighborhood from their partnership with the city through the Love Your Block Grant program.
​
“They had an interest in planting trees and requested our assistance, and that is how we found ourselves here today,” Shipe said.
​​
​Although not funded by the tree equity program, the planting serves to further Phoenix’s goal of increasing the canopy cover citywide. Del Norte currently has 14% canopy cover and a tree equity score of 99, according to the Tree Equity Score Analyzer, making it a low priority area.
​
​That doesn’t stop Del Norte homeowners from taking advantage of the chance to have more; as they drank coffee and ate bagels, they listened intently to Killoren as she explained how to properly plant trees.
Residents Steve Brown and Dalon Westergreen, alongside neighborhood association president Tim Smith, moved throughout the community helping to plant their neighbors’ trees after Killoren finished. The three could be spotted working in many yards as the morning continued, including those of Price and Danielle Malone, another resident.
​​
A Keep Phoenix Beautiful bucket in a Del Norte front yard on March 22.
Del Norte resident Steve Brown plants a tree in a neighbor's front yard on March 22.
City officials see tree planting events as more than a way to expand the shade.
​
In an interview after the event, Killoren said, “Being able to go out to these events and doing something that’s not only good for the environment but also good for the community really makes people happy.”
Killoren said occasions like that in Del Norte foster connection. She added that connected neighborhoods often experience significant benefits, including lower crime rates.
​​
“They get to meet people they maybe haven’t met and create new relationships,” Killoren said.
​
Malone expressed the neighborhood’s support for the trees and the event itself.
​
“We’re very appreciative of the grant and the opportunity to have the trees,” Malone said. She and her husband moved to the neighborhood two years ago, and planting trees in their front yard was a goal they had since then.​
​
“We’re all out here helping each other plant them,” Malone said. “We’re super grateful.”
Kayla Killoren, Phoenix's tree equity project coordinator, and Del Norte resident Dalon Westergreen demonstrate how to plant a tree on March 22.