Grow some shade in Columbia, SC 🌳

Join in on the initiative created by Columbia Green.

Shade Lovers COLA-Lead Story Image Crop.png

Different local trees you can plant around Columbia.

Photo by COLAtoday team taken at Gardener’s Outpost.

Fun fact: Did you know that areas with less tree canopy can be 10 degrees hotter?

Columbia Green — a local nonprofit that promotes beautification through gardening, horticulture, education + conservation — is hosting an educational lunch with free food and will distribute tree vouchers for those who wish to receive a shade tree. The event takes place on Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Eau Claire Print Building at 11:30 a.m.

The Beat the Heat initiative offers residents native species trees at no cost to make the city more beautiful + sustainable. Over the next five years, it hopes tfo plant 1,750 new shade trees on private property at no cost to property owners.

Available trees include:

  • Dogwoods
  • Redbuds
  • Sycamores
  • Variety of oaks

Can’t make it to the lunch, but still want a tree? Columbia Green has you covered.

More from COLAtoday
Dining in Columbia is always a fresh experience, with new restaurants popping up all the time — and more on the way.
Block parties, early ball drops, free games — whatever your vibe, there’s a Columbia-area New Year’s Eve for you.
South Carolina is reshaping its offense with coordinator Kendal Briles and longtime assistants Stan Drayton and Randy Clements joining Shane Beamer’s staff.
Columbia Food & Wine Festival returns with new Tastemakers memberships and a USC hospitality scholarship added to its five-day lineup.
Registration is open for MAI’s spring Audio Engineering Certificate, a six-month program led by Jam Room’s Jay Matheson.
The $80 million LOCAL Columbia development will add new apartments, retail space, parking, and streetscape improvements just one block from the State House.
CF Evans has started building 2222 Main View, a 320-unit luxury apartment project coming to Main Street by 2027.
Our readers have spoken — here are the best local spots our city has to offer, from the best coffee shop to the best apartment complex to the best dentist.
It’s not just your year in music — we’ve also rounded up your year in local news.
A grassroots effort is helping Midlands properties become part of a nationwide habitat network.