Non-profit plants trees to tackle pollution in Central Valley

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- One tree at a time, a Fresno Organization is working on cleaning up the air from the ground up.

Volunteer, Nathan Munoz said, "My favorite part of what I was doing is basically putting the dirt in."

Dozens of Tree Fresno volunteers planted around 50 trees at Al Radka Park on Saturday. The goal is to beautify the park and improve the area's air quality.

Tree Fresno CEO, Lee Ayres said, "The trees are going to help absorb and deflect particles and pollution coming off the freeway."

The project is part of Tree Fresno's San Joaquin Green Colleges and Parks Grant. Ayres says they recently got two large grants from Cal Fire. That will help them plant 2,400 trees in several areas, including Fresno, Reedley, and Kerman.

Some volunteers say they're hoping this inspires the younger generation.

Nathan's mother, Alexis Bolanos said, "I'm trying to raise my son to learn to give back to the community."

"I think it's important that we have clean air so people that do have asthma can breathe," Munoz said.

More than 160 trees are expected to go in Al Radhka Park, and the organization hopes to plant 5,000 more trees throughout the Central Valley in the next two years.