Inversion periods of low air quality are well-known to Treasure Valley. Residents may have noticed more smog flooding into the area alongside rising temperatures in the past few years.
John McDade is the nursery manager at Garden City’s North End Organic Nursery. McDade says fruit tree saplings are popular this time of year.
“On the right here is our peaches, one of our best selling fruit trees. People love to grow a peach. They can be a little bit challenging,” McDade said.
McDade talked about how tree planting season has changed with the weather in recent years. 2024 was the hottest year on record since 1934 in Idaho, with the Treasure Valley ranking 17 in the nation for particle pollution.
The state is following a nationwide trend of rising temperatures and falling air quality.
A January study by Boise State professors says there’s a practice anyone can do to counteract heat waves in the Valley — “neighborhood greening.”
Homeowners and subdivision developers are encouraged to plant flowers, trees and shrubberies. The plants absorb heat otherwise trapped in the ground by scalding asphalt and cement.
Jen Pierce is a professor of Geosciences at Boise State University. Pierce helped interpret study findings on neighborhood greening, which concludes more plants mean a better environment and a healthier Idaho.
“In Idaho, in the summer, if you go out onto those black asphalt surfaces, it can be, you know, upwards 10, even 20 degrees hotter. So you have the co-benefit of reducing heat and storing more carbon in the trees,” Pierce said.
The study describes other potential positive effects of neighborhood greening. They include reducing heat-related illnesses, adding property value to housing, and providing a sense of community identity as Boise’s population grows.
The study warns “greening” could be taxing on city water infrastructure. Idaho is a dry state that recently experienced extreme drought in the summer of 2021.
Back at the Nursery, McDade recommends a solution. He says growing trees and plants native to Idaho in your yard can offer all the environmental benefits of grass without using as much water.
“I think more and more people are aware of the realization that we really need to do something. And probably one of the easiest things to do if you've got the space is to plant a tree,” McDade said.
The City of Boise is encouraging tree planting. In 2020, the city debuted its Elaine Clegg City of Trees Challenge, asking Boiseans to add 100,000 trees to the city by 2030. In the years since the challenge began, roughly 19,000 have been planted.
North End Organic Nursery is an underwriter to this station, but as always, our editorial decisions are independent of underwriting decisions.
