More than 400 volunteers and runners made it to Tempe Town Lake for the first annual Arbor Day 5K walk and fun run on a breezy Friday afternoon.
Arbor Day is the nationally celebrated observance day dedicated to trees. The proceeds of the race went to the Trees for Tempe program.
During the monsoons in the summer of 2008, more than 400 city-owned trees were destroyed and this event was designed to replace those trees. The event came at no cost to the city because of a contribution from the Salt River Project.
Denise Rentschler, a spokeswoman for the city of Tempe’s Parks and Recreation department, helped put together the event and said something as simple as a tree is viable for the city.
“This is the inaugural year,” she said. “We’ve deemed it a success because we have 486 people registered for the run.”
The goal to have 300 participants was well exceeded, she said.
Every two runners to participate in the race was the equivalent of purchasing one tree for the program, she said.
Leah Helin, a biology senior at ASU, volunteered at the event with some friends.
“The whole purpose is to bring the community together,” she said.
Tom Kiefer, battalion chief for the Tempe Fire Department, ran in the race and said he takes part in a lot of the city sponsored walks and runs.
“It’s good to get local people together to help out a bigger part of the world,” he said.
Jonnie Wolfe, senior recreation coordinator for Tempe Parks and Recreation, was in charge of all the volunteers during the event.
“I do special events for the city,” she said. “All of the proceeds go to the benefiting of trees in Tempe.”
The estimated loss of trees after the 2008 monsoons was $1.2 million and the city didn’t have the money to replace them, Rentshler said.
Trees for Tempe was founded in 2006 by a local orthodontist, that program was successful at first and then laid dormant until the 2008 monsoons, she said.
“Last year we planted over 400 trees as part of the program,” she said. “This year we decided to do something else to get more people involved.”
Besides environmental reasons, trees play a vital role in Tempe, Rentshler said.
“They lower the temperature by providing shade, increase property value and stimulate economic development,” she said.
Only four trees were planted during the event because the prime planting season is between October and May, Rentshler said.
Each volunteer and runner will receive an e-mail from the organization later down the road with details about planting the trees, she said.
“The great thing about planting trees is that they have a very long life,” Rentshler said. “By planting them you’re going to know you’ve made an impact on the future generations to come.”
Reach the reporter at mmbarke1@asu.edu
