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SALT LAKE CITY -- Famous musician and environmental activist Sheryl Crow stopped by Sugarhouse Park Friday to "spread the good word" about how planting trees helps the community.
Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Coroon, TreeUtah, Tom's of Maine and several volunteers joined with Crow in an effort to put five young London Plane Trees in the park, after construction on a tunnel along Parley's Trail took out many of the park's trees.
Urban areas need trees. We need it for our air quality; and in Utah, we have some of the worst air quality in the nation.
–Peter Caroon
"When the pioneers came, one of the goals was to make Utah bloom like a rose," said Coroon. "So by planting trees we help do that."
The planting is part of several initiatives to beautify cities and parks, as well as improve the environment.
"Urban areas need trees," Caroon said. "We need it for our air quality; and in Utah, we have some of the worst air quality in the nation."
The One Million Trees for One Million People program was started in 2007, with the goal of planting one million trees in Salt Lake County by 2017. So far, about 580,000 have been put in the ground, including the five planted today.
TreeUtah is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to plant as many trees as possible.
"Beauty is all around us and it's up to us to keep it beautiful," Crow said.
Crow was in town for a concert Friday night, as well as to promote a tour by Tom's of Maine called "Bring Back Natural Beauty."
Volunteers received free tickets to the show.
