Feeling the heat? Clark County wants to give you a free tree

One of the strongest antidotes to the desert heat is shade.

Clark County has a plan to disperse more of it across the Las Vegas Valley, committing to handing off to residents a total of 4,500 water-efficient trees to plant on their properties through May.

In 12 Zip codes the county has identified as “urban heat islands,” homeowners can pick up two trees instead of one, in an effort to prioritize neighborhoods that experience heat more intensely due to a lack of shade and green spaces.

“This is one way to make a change in our built environment that helps decrease that urban heat island effect that’s exacerbated on extreme heat days,” Marci Henson, director of the county environment and sustainability office, said in a Thursday interview.

Why shade matters

Southern Nevada has felt the wrath of a record summer, breaking all-time heat records with 120 degrees in July and more than 100 days of triple-digit temperatures. It’s also been the deadliest heat season on record, with 342 heat-related deaths as of Thursday, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.

Shade can be a solution. Air temperatures can be 25 degrees cooler under a tree than the air above pavement, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

“Extreme heat days are another level of heat that can really tax an individual’s health and public health in general,” Henson said. “We need to gain a greater appreciation in our community about the seriousness of extreme heat.”

The Community Canopy Project, in partnership with the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation, marks a key first step in the All-In Clark County climate change mitigation plan. UNLV’s Las Vegas Urban Forest Center is working on boosting tree canopy in urban heat islands, too, with a $5 million federal grant.

Adopted in 2021, All-In Clark County was the county’s first comprehensive sustainability plan. Commissioners promised they would reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, which means the carbon dioxide the county puts into the atmosphere is offset by what’s taken out, thus not contributing to warming.

Some of the trees available, from the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s approved list for drought-resistant trees, include shumard oaks, chaste trees and Chinese pistache trees.

Property owners can instructions on how to collect their trees at arborday.org/clarkcountydes.

An in-person collection event will take place on Oct. 11 at the Winchester Dondero Cultural Center from 3 to 6 p.m., or residents can have the trees delivered to their home at no charge.