https://www.wsco.org/environment

"Earth Day is a day for action. The West Side is a special place, and there’s so much work to be done here to keep our neighborhood safe and clean and healthy for our children and for their children. I live here in the neighborhood with all of you, and I am committed to keeping our neighborhood clean and beautiful and healthy. So I’m inviting you in, to care for the land, to care for our neighborhood. One way we can do that is through our Health and Environmental Justice group here at WSCO." – Monica Bravo, WSCO Executive Director

Thank you, neighbors and beloved community, for gathering with us last Sunday to celebrate Earth Day here on the West Side! Check out more photos from the celebration on our Facebook page.

Together, we cleaned up a ton of garbage in our parks as part of Saint Paul's Citywide cleanup day. We also know that environmental justice is more than just clean parks-- it also looks like green spaces that everyone on the West Side, from the flats to Torres, Southport to Cherokee Park, can enjoy. Unfortunately, historic redlining has led to disinvestment in neighborhoods with higher populations of Black, Indigenous, and people of color. That means fewer trees on our streets, hotter temperatures on our streets, and an increase in heat-related health problems and even death in our neighborhood.

WSCO is proud to partner with Tree Trust to give away 150 seven-foot trees to West Siders, for free. More trees keep us cooler, clean the air, and make our community beautiful.

Click here to sign up for a free tree!

If you are a renter who would like to see more trees near where you live, reach out to us and we can contact your landlord for permission to plant trees.

Special thanks to Sandy Pappas, Debbie and Brian Madson, Sue Letourneau, Heather Friedli, Grupo Huitzillín, Tree Trust, and all of the community members who turned out to make Earth Day a great day. We hope to see you again at an upcoming WSCO event!