APS marks 140 years with Yuma tree-planting volunteer projects

Arizona Public Service’s 140th anniversary turned into a very local payoff in San Luis, where tree planting at an elementary school added future shade to a border-desert campus that can feel punishing by late spring. The company said the work was part of a statewide day of service that planted and distributed more than 140 trees across Arizona, with Yuma among the communities that got the benefit.

APS said more than 1,000 employee volunteers took part in the April 29 effort, the company’s largest single day of volunteerism. In Yuma County, the plantings reached Yuma-area schools, Jason Lopez Memorial Park and Coffinger Park, extending a beautification push that APS says is aimed at communities most vulnerable to extreme heat. The utility said its 2026 anniversary effort included a $1.4 million shareholder-funded investment for beautification projects across its service area, so customer bills are not affected.

The San Luis school planting matters because shade is not cosmetic in this part of Arizona. APS says shaded surfaces can be 20 to 45 degrees cooler than unshaded materials, and that evapotranspiration from trees can help reduce peak summer temperatures by 2 to 9 degrees. On campuses where children wait outside for drop-off, cross between buildings at recess or gather near sidewalks and playgrounds, that can mean less heat absorbed into pavement, walls and blacktop during the hottest months.

APS has made the same case across its service territory, which covers 11 of Arizona’s 15 counties and more than 1.4 million homes and businesses. The company says its Community Tree Program is designed to expand canopy in high-need neighborhoods, including Title I schools and other vulnerable areas, with grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 for qualifying projects. In a county where summer shade can change how safe a bus stop, schoolyard or park feels, that help has immediate value.

Yuma has already seen what those plantings can do. In 2024, APS joined the City of Yuma, the City of Yuma Clean and Beautiful Commission, Yuma Regional Medical Center and NexGen in a ceremony that put 45 trees and 90 shrubs along the East Main Canal multiuse pathway. The new San Luis planting builds on that work, adding another layer of relief for students and families who live with the region’s relentless heat every day.