Tulsa isn't blessed with big trees and shade by accident.
Most of our urban forest has been planted and cared for many years.
But during the hottest summer ever, that care is now critical.
Every day the people at Up With Trees are facing a desperate struggle to keep our public spaces green.
The organization has been at work for 36 years planting and maintaining trees, along our highways and open spaces.
Right now, they are watering the trees that have been in the ground for 4 years or less, because they aren't fully established.
5500 trees must get 10 to 20 gallons of water every week.
In most cases, the water that must be trucked to the sites and hand carried to each tree trunk.
That's a lot of hard labor that's done by volunteers.
Many of those people are doing court-ordered community service.
But often come back later on their own, because keeping the city green is rewarding.
Anna America is the Executive Director of Up With Trees.
She says that we should all provide the same care, for the trees that shade our homes and businesses.
Any tree that's less than 15-inches in diameter, should get a good soaking every week.
She says trees are a valuable asset, so it's worth the effort to keep them healthy.
The Up With Tree's crews are working hard all week, even during voluntary water restrictions.
They have a special order from the mayor's office, allowing them to water the trees every day.
