SACRAMENTO, Calif. — There’s nothing Amelia Serrano likes more than pottering around in her garden.

What You Need To Know

  • A study commissioned by the city of Sacramento found areas with lower median pay averages, more renters, and a higher percentage of people of color have significantly less tree canopy coverage than other parts of the city

  • The Meadowview Urban Tree Project provides stump removal and grinding, along with a free tree

  • Tree canopies are needed in urban areas for their wealth of health benefits

  • The report also showed that the northern and southern areas of the city have as little as 4% coverage, well below the state's urban average of 19%

Serrano grew up in Ciudad Juarez, on the Mexico-U.S. border, where seeing green flora wasn’t very common.

“We barely saw a tree,” Serrano said. “I remember we would go someplace and then find a tree. Oh! We were so happy because we had a little bit of shade.”

Serrano said that when she first moved to the heart of Sacramento City, she loved the abundance of trees and greenery.

Now, she lives 15 minutes south of the city, and while there are some trees, she said she wishes there were more.

“The town is beautiful,” Serrano said. “[There’s] a lot of trees. I used to live downtown. But out here, not so much. Not so much trees.”

A study commissioned by the city of Sacramento found areas with lower median pay averages, more renters, and a higher percentage of people of color have significantly less tree canopy coverage than other parts of the city.

Many of these areas are located north and south of the city.

That’s why Serrano jumped at the chance to participate in a free program from the Meadowview Urban Tree Project that provides stump removal and grinding, along with a free tree.

“I think [the new tree] is going to have some flowers, and then it’s going to look pretty,” she said. “And then we can use that shading when we sit down in the afternoon.” 

Jeff Solomon is the organization’s treasurer and also lives in the same neighborhood as Serrano. He said tree canopies are needed in urban areas for their wealth of health benefits.

“Improves mental health,” Solomon said. “It’s good for the environment. And we’d like to have the same advantages as some of the other neighborhoods have in the city.”

The report also showed that the northern and southern areas of the city have as little as 4% coverage, well below the state’s urban average of 19%.

Solomon said since they started planting and removing trees, around 40 young trees have been planted.

Serrano said she is glad to help grow the neighborhood’s canopy with her new Eastern Redbud and share the same happiness she receives from them.

“I still got it in my mind when I see a tree. I get happy to see the shade,” Serrano said.

Because she said, her neighborhood deserves trees just as much as any other.