The city of Somerville has planned a "planting blitz" of 575 new trees during the month of July as part of a program to replace sick or dying trees throughout the city.

In 2009, the Somerville Urban Forest Initiatives found that roughly 850 of the more than 11,000 trees in the city were dead or diseased.

July’s project is part of the city’s plan to plant 2,000 new trees by the end of 2015. Since 2011, more than 1,000 new trees from a dozen species have been planted. The program is paid for with $75,000 a year in federal funding supplemented with city funding. The additional foliage is designed to reduce urban heat islands that increase energy costs and can cause health problems.

To request a planting in their neighborhood, residents can call the city’s 311 constituent service line.