Around 100 trees will be planted in the Strathmore Neighborhood on Saturday as part of an annual event organized by the city of Syracuse, Cornell University Cooperative Extension and Onondaga Earth Corps.

The trees will be planted in the area to restore the historical neighborhood plans while serving as a storm water basin overflow.

The event will run from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday at Upper Onondaga Park on the corner of Crossett Street and Clairmonte Avenue.

Clare Carney, natural resources program educator at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County, said the organizers are expecting upwards of 150 volunteers, with 120 already registered. Online registration is not necessary and volunteers will be available to register on site on Saturday morning, she said.

“It’s a great opportunity to do service in a community that you can come back to 20 years from now and physically see the change that you made, see something grow, and see the productivity that you put forth on this day,” Carney said.

This program is a yearly event with a new planting location chosen every year. Last year, trees were planted in Thornden Park. Carney said this year’s supply of trees is the most they have ever planted. The spots are chosen based on historical reasons as well as the environmental impact. The facilitators of the Save The Rain program look through old master plans for the city to look to restore green areas in their efforts of planting.

The program hopes to plant 8,500 trees in the city of Syracuse by 2018, according to a brochure put forth by the agency.

Save The Rain contributes to the environmentally friendly efforts to improve the quality of water of the Onondaga Lake and its tributaries, according to the Save The Rain website.

This program focuses on storm water management and implements environmentally-friendly remedies to the cleaning and maintenance of Onondaga Lake and its watershed area, one of which is the planting of trees which reduces the amount of water flowing into sewer systems, according to the website.

The event will run regardless of the weather condition and boots and sneakers are required to volunteer.

Published on November 2, 2016 at 10:23 pm

Contact Baylee: bawri100@syr.edu