More than 60 Cox Communications technicians joined Forever Balboa Park to plant 15 trees in Morley Field that will help support ground cover, replace previously damaged saplings, and create a more environmentally healthy community.
In addition, Cox Charities made a $2,500 donation to Forever Balboa Park to support its work with urban forestry and sustaining and enhancing Balboa Park.
The Team Cox employee volunteers planted Coast Live Oak (native species) and Southern Oak (non-native but climate-appropriate) trees along Upas Street and Jacaranda Place near the Morley Field bocce ball courts.
Both tree species provide canopy cover and shade and also help combat climate change by pulling carbon dioxide from the air and storing it in roots, trunks, stems, and leaves (a process known as carbon sequestration).
There are additional benefits to planting trees and maintaining a community’s urban forestry. Trees improve air quality by producing oxygen and absorbing harmful pollutants, and they reduce the impact of stormwater by promoting healthy soil and intercepting rainfall.
“The recent San Diego storms serve as a reminder of how important trees are to providing ground coverage, slowing down the flow of rainfall – which helps slow down flooding – and reducing the impacts of stormwater,” said Phillip Sammuli, vice president of institutional advancement from Forever Balboa Park.
