PUD Joins City of Everett to Celebrate Arbor Day

Eleven trees planted at Walter E. Hall Park as part of annual event

Snohomish County PUD joined the City of Everett and students from the South Everett/Mukilteo Boys & Girls Club on April 9, 2025, to celebrate Washington State Arbor Day with a ceremony and tree plantings.

The event opened with a proclamation and poems from City of Everett Councilmember Liz Vogeli and PUD Commissioner Julieta Altamirano-Crosby. Both speakers emphasized their organization’s commitment to environmental stewardship and the importance of planting trees for cleaner air, shade, and wildlife habitat. Attendees and students joined employees from the PUD Vegetation Management department and City of Everett Parks Department to plant eleven trees, including one Galaxy Magnolia, five Parrotias, and five Wildfire Tupelos.

“The PUD has a strong commitment to environmental stewardship, including planting trees in the communities we serve,” said PUD Commissioner Altamirano-Crosby. “It was an honor to be part of today’s event and help inspire future generations in Snohomish County.”

In addition to participating in Wednesday’s event, the PUD will also be celebrating Arbor Day through its TREE Power Program. In 2024, the PUD piloted TREE Power and its inaugural year the program provided grants for tree plantings at Walter E. Hall Park in Everett, Centennial Trail in Arlington, and Japanese Gulch in the City of Mukilteo. TREE Power supports urban forestry tree planting in parks, green spaces, and urban areas. Planting trees promotes energy efficiency by reducing heat retention of buildings, pavement, and hard surfaces. More trees equal a cooler environment, and ideally less need for air conditioning.

The application process for 2025 grants will open on April 10 and go through June 10. Projects can apply for up to $15,000 in funding. Grant funds may be used for public land that is publicly accessible such as libraries, public parks, public building courtyards, community gardens or school grounds within Snohomish County PUD service area.

Learn about the application process, see the PUD’s Heat Map (identifying areas with the greatest potential for conservation) and list of recommended trees at snopud.com/TREEPower.