The City of Concord and the Creation Care team at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and Carolina Power Partners, are teaming up to give away 300 free trees through the Energy-Saving Trees program. The City of Concord was the first municipality in North Carolina to join the program, and is now participating for the fifth year in a row.
As one of North Carolina’s public power communities, the City of Concord is proud to be partnering with Carolina Power Partners this year to offer more trees than ever before. As a Tree City USA member, the City is committed to supporting the community’s tree canopy while helping homeowners save money on their energy bill.
City of Concord homeowners and Concord Electric Systems customers may reserve their trees online by visiting arborday.org/concord. Trees are available on a first come, first served basis. The variety of trees offered this year include: Red Maple, Bald Cypress, Shumard Oak, Tulip Poplar and Sourwood.
Trees must be picked up on Saturday, October 21 at the All Saints’ Episcopal Church located at 525 Lake Concord Rd NE. Trees will be available for pick up from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Homeowners can reserve one free tree to be planted in the most strategic area as identified by the online mapping tool. This tool is designed to take the guesswork out of where to plant the tree on a specific property to help maximize the tree’s air, water, energy, and carbon benefits. Carefully positioned trees can reduce a household’s energy consumption for heating and cooling by up to 25 percent.
In 2022, the City of Concord and All Saints’ Episcopal Church distributed 200 native trees to homeowners across the city. The projected 20-year beneficial outcomes for these 200 trees are: 479,112 kWh energy saved, 960,668 pounds of carbon sequestered, 1,627 pounds of air pollutants absorbed, and over 4 million gallons of stormwater runoff filtered.
In total, over the last four years of the program, 979 free trees have been given out to homeowners in Concord. Assuming all 979 trees were planted and survived, the 20-year projected outcomes include near 2 million kWh energy saved, over 3.3 million pounds of carbon sequestered, more than 6,600 pounds of air pollutants absorbed, over 15 million gallons of stormwater runoff filtered, and over $380,000 in combined energy and community benefits.
