San Luis Obispo visitors will help plant 10,000 trees by 2035
Keys for Trees program is the first of its kind
–Visitors can feel even better about staying at a hotel in San Luis Obispo because a new initiative will use local tourism dollars to plant 10,000 trees by 2035.
The City of San Luis Obispo is the first destination in the U.S. to launch an innovative urban reforestation sustainability initiative funded by its local hotels.
Through the new Keys for Trees program, which supports the City’s Climate Action Plan, the San Luis Obispo Tourism Business Improvement District will dedicate 1% of its annual revenue to planting trees throughout the community. The program is part of a novel partnership with the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo, a local nonprofit dedicated to protecting and preserving SLO’s natural assets. In total, the destination aims to plant 10,000 trees by 2035.
The initiative puts sustainability front and center by giving travelers a unique opportunity to offset the impact of their visit and subsequently help them to make more sustainable travel decisions. With the
urban reforestation program, visitors to SLO will know that their hotel fees will be going towards planting trees, helping to offset tourism’s impact by capturing carbon emissions.
“More and more people are looking for ‘green’ hotels and destinations when they travel, and with Keys for Trees everyone staying in San Luis Obispo will be part of our climate solutions,” said Molly Cano, Tourism Manager at the City of SLO. “There’s no extra step to take for visitors, other than staying at a hotel within city limits.”
Urban tree planting cleans the air we breathe, filters the water we drink, and provides habitat to more than 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. Once planted, the 10,000 trees will be enough to offset more than 40 cars’ worth of carbon produced during an entire year.
“Additionally, we hope that residents of San Luis Obispo will be happy to know that every single one of the annual 1.5 million visitors to our community is giving back to this place we all love,” added Cano. “Just by booking an overnight stay, visitors are helping to preserve the beauty of our community.”
This isn’t the first time San Luis Obispo has pioneered a sustainability initiative. In 1990, SLO was the first city in the world to ban smoking in all public buildings, including bars and restaurants. You also won’t find any drive-thrus in town and the independent Palm Theatre was the first movie theatre in the United States to be run by solar energy.
Climate action is consistently identified as a top issue by residents in San Luis Obispo. In response to this priority, the city has an ambitious goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035. Some of the other practices already in place include an innovative anaerobic compost facility, also the first of its kind in the country, and sustainable winemaking practices, all in addition to planting 10,000 trees.
Anyone who would like to support the TBID’s Urban Reforestation effort is able to by donating directly at EcoSLO.org/tree-support.
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