UC San Diego to Plant Trees for Arbor Day

More than five dozen trees will be planted at UC San Diego Friday in honor of Arbor Day.

Volunteers will plant 23 Coast Live Oaks, 22 Torrey Pines and 19 Canary Island Pines on the east side of the La Jolla campus from 9 to 11:30 a.m., according to UCSD's public affairs office.

The event is free and open to the public.

Arbor Day will also be celebrated in Balboa Park today. At 10:30 a.m., Friends of Balboa Park will hold a "Tree Celebration" near Quince Street and Sixth Avenue. During the event, San Diego Gas & Electric representatives will be on hand to share tips about where to plant trees so they don't conflict with overhead or underground lines.

The utility's vegetation management teams monitor more than 425,000 trees each year to look for vegetation that might pose a hazard or reliability concern, said David Geier, vice president of electric operations for SDG&E.

SDG&E also has a "Right Tree, Right Place" program in which customers can receive free removal and replacement of incompatible trees.

Information about the program can be found online at sdge.com/safety.