This season, Green Columbus is giving out free trees to local residents as a part of its eighth-annual Fall Tree Giveaway.
The organization is hosting a giveaway from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Dodge Community Center in Franklinton.
Sunday's event is the second of three giveaways in 2026. On Sept. 27, the organization hosted a giveaway on the South Side. The third and final giveaway of the season will be hosted in Linden on Oct. 11. Residents must register for trees in advance.
Green Columbus Executive Director Shelly Douglas said the giveaways are held in areas with fewer trees than the rest of the city.
"We don't have enough trees," Douglas said. "We wanted to give them away for free to homeowners because there's not a lot of opportunity for Green Columbus to plant on private property."
She said many areas with fewer trees are often low income. Residents there experience higher rates of asthma, heart disease, and extreme heat.
"It shouldn't be a luxury to have shade in your yard or to be able to afford to run your air conditioning bill," Douglas said. "It can help you a lot on your electric bill if you have shade on your house."
Douglas said the organization plants close to 3,000 trees every year. Over the past eight years, the organization has distributed more than 10,000 trees. She said close to 100 volunteers begin planting the seedlings in March, so the trees are at least 6 feet tall before the giveaway.
Any trees that aren't suitable for residential properties are donated to the city to plant elsewhere, Douglas said.
The initiative is part of a broader mission from the city of Columbus to attain a 40% citywide tree canopy cover by 2050. Currently, the city is only halfway there, Douglas said.
"The city of Columbus is only planting street trees, maybe some parks and rec centers, but nobody is planting anything else," Douglas said. "We need to plant these trees now so that they have 20 years or so to really grow into a matured tree before we hit that 2050 landmark."
Douglas said more tree canopy means lower temperatures, more shade, and better conditions for pollinators and birds.
Douglas said the organizations hopes to build a new tree nursery in the coming years to provide more species and varieties of trees during the giveaways.
More information about the 2026 Fall Tree Giveaways can be found on the Green Columbus website.