The City of Marion was recently awarded a grant through MidAmerican Energy’s Trees Please! program. Greg Wildebour (pictured at left) with MidAmerican Energy presented a $1,000 check to Tree Board Chair Scott Hansen at its monthly board meeting on March 7. Hansen indicated the grant funding would be used to replace trees previously removed in the city’s right-of-way areas. The trees will be planted in the spring and fall for optimal planting and survival.

MidAmerican Energy offers many energy efficiency programs to residential and nonresidential customers. With the Trees Please! program, customers benefit from beautification and environmental enhancements in their communities. Trees Please! funds are distributed each year to local communities to promote energy efficiency and improve the physical appearance of communities through the planting of trees.

Trees improve energy efficiency by serving as natural windbreaks and providing shade to homes and businesses. According to the USDA Forest Service research, strategically placed mature trees can cut annual air conditioning demands up to 56 percent and heating costs up to 3 percent. Trees beautify parks, roadways and other common spaces within a community. Planting trees also improves air quality and helps protect and nourish the soil.

Trees Please! grant recipients are selected based on the individual merits of the project, the benefit to the community and the ability to obtain matching funds.