Volunteers from Newmont Mining Corporation planted dozens of trees in Central Park. Photo courtesy of The Park People

In mid-September, a number of Central Park’s trees were restored, thanks to The Park People and Newmont Mining Corporation.

The Park People, a nonprofit, loves trees and believe they have incredible benefits to communities beyond environmental, like encouraging residents to walk more, use public spaces, and engage with the outdoors. The organization partners with Denver Parks & Recreation to preserve historic sites and contribute to new development by planting trees.

When the trees in Central Park were originally installed, the contractor used wire cages around the roots, which is fine for the first couple of years until the roots need to grow beyond the constraint of the cage. Denver Parks & Recreation has been puzzled  about how to fix the issue, until they connected with The Park People regarding their Mile High Tree Champions program that replaces improperly planted trees with new ones.

“We partner with local businesses and they sponsor staff a half day to help plant trees so those [volunteer days] take place in natural areas, affordable housing communities, parks, nonprofit headquarter sites, and more,” says Kim Yuan-Farrell, executive director for The Park People.

The Park People connected with Newmont Mining Corporation, which has an office in Denver. Forty Newmont employees volunteered and planted more than 30 trees in two areas of Central Park. The trees were a diverse mix that will be medium and large once fully grown.