You can make a difference in your community by planting a tree in your yard, local park or school. Trees improve the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink. They beautify our streets and shade our children.

Here are some great opportunities to get affordable trees to plant this spring:

• The Iowa DNR State Forest Nursery offers spring delivery in April and May for  hardwood, conifer and shrub seedlings. Visit our online store to view seedling varieties and to place your spring order.
• Urban Forestry Development Grant applications are available online. Grant funding up to $50,000 per project is available to complete projects such as creating community forestry plans, building urban food forests, hosting educational programming, and workforce development through forestry internships. The deadline to submit a spring application is March 17. 
• Alliant Energy customers can purchase up to two trees per planting address at $25 per tree. Pick-up communities include Ogden, Vinton, Oelwein, Mt. Pleasant and  Mason City. Find times and exact locations on the DNR Residential Tree Programs webpage. Online ordering will be available early March.

Iowa DNR recently updated their Community Tree Inventory web page. Use the newly added Iowa Community Tree Inventory Viewer User Guide to help you easily navigate the new website and quickly find the list of trees in your community.