DWP Promotes Power of Trees

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is turning to an old-fashioned way of helping residents cool their homes: tree power.

The utility has launched a program to give away 100,000 shade trees to its customers in the coming year. The aim is to create natural cooling and reduce electricity needed to run air conditioners.

Officials say the program will also help beautify the city and cut smog. The new trees will remove thousands of tons of air pollutants annually, according to the DWP.

On Saturday at Shadow Ranch Park in West Hills, the first of five August workshops for San Fernando Valley residents interested in the Trees for a Green L.A. program drew a small but enthusiastic audience of seven people.

Still, workshop instructor Brian Miller pressed on, giving residents pointers on staking young trees and choosing the best species for particular locations.

Each tree planted will save about 81 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to run a television set six hours a day for about 67 days, the DWP says.

While the natural cooling method is low-tech, it isn’t as simple as digging a hole and sticking in a sapling.

“I thought, ‘How difficult can it be to plant a tree?’ ” said Harriet Perry of North Hills. “But if you want it to grow, you have to do it right.”

Workshop attendance is required for DWP customers to receive up to seven free trees. The 6-foot trees will be delivered within two weeks, officials said.

While workshop participants plotted out their residential lots on graph paper, Miller explained that trees must be planted 10 feet from foundations and that soil drainage will determine how quickly the new garden inhabitants spread their limbs to create cooling shade.

Gwendolyn Powels of Reseda said she initially signed up for the program because she wanted to provide some relief from the sun for her prized geraniums. But she quickly was sold on the energy-conservation angle.

“This is common sense,” she said. “The first thing people do is chop down a tree because it’s messy. It’s such a shame. We need more trees.”

DWP is offering about 40 types of trees that would retail from about $20 to $55.

For information, residents can call 800-473-3652 or visit www.GreenLA.com.