LOS ANGELES, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- A plan to plant 1 million trees across Los Angeles calls for the city to give away trees but no one knows if they're actually being planted.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa heralded his Million Trees LA initiative as a cornerstone of his environmental agenda. However, in many cases, organizers aren't so much planting trees as giving them away, offering the 1-gallon pots at fairs, festivals and farmers markets, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
The giveaway strategy sparked controversy has among the city's environmentalists, who cheer Villaraigosa for focusing on trees but are worried that the program is too numbers oriented.
One tree-taker was Monica Barra, who picked up a free African sumac last month when she attended a jazz festival in South Los Angeles. The tree sits in her apartment in Redlands, Calif., about 60 miles from Los Angeles.
"I just really like having trees and plants where I'm living," Barra, who majors in literature, historiography and urban studies, told the Times. "And it was free."
