DWP GIVING AWAY TREES FOR INTERNET COURSE TAKERS.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

Hoping to entice time-crunched Angelenos to plant greenery around their homes, the Department of Water and Power is offering free shade trees for a few clicks of a computer mouse.

In just 20 minutes, DWP customers can take an on-line tree-care course that qualifies them to receive up to seven free trees - each about 2 years old and valued at $30 to $100 apiece. A video and DVD are in development for residents without Internet access.

Previously, customers had to attend an hourlong workshop held on weekends - a requirement that deterred a lot of potential backyard arborists and stalled the DWP's goal of planting 15,000 trees this year.

``We're trying to make this convenient for the customer. The easier it is to participate, the more people will take advantage,'' said Ed Petok, the DWP's manager of energy efficiency. ``In the 21st century, a Web- based system makes sense and is the best way to do that.''

The DWP has given away 30,000 trees since launching its Trees for a Green LA program in 2002, including more than 13,000 in the San Fernando Valley. The utility anticipates that the Internet course will help double the number of trees being planted.

The course is required to ensure that customers don't plant trees under power lines or close to water lines and building foundations where the roots could do serious damage.

Convenience and price were enough to convince Sherman Oaks resident Daniel Avey to hit the send button.

``I'm really motivated by the word 'free,' and I'm really motivated by knocking down my electricity bills in the summer,'' he said.

With his daughters' weekend soccer games and errands around the house, Avey said, he wouldn't have signed up for the in-person workshop. But the on-line course took him just 15 minutes from the comfort of his own computer.

He was the first on-line workshop graduate and the Los Angeles Conservation Corps delivered his young Chinese flame tree and Bradford pear tree on a recent Saturday morning.

By planting a tree in the middle of his front lawn, shading a large window, Avey could cut his summer air conditioning needs by 20 percent, Petok said.

Plus, Avey chose deciduous trees that will drop their leaves in the winter and allow warm sunlight to heat his front room.

The DWP launched Trees for a Green LA as a relatively cheap way to cut electricity demand with some side environmental benefits, such as improving air quality, water management and, of course, beautifying neighborhoods.

Each tree will save an estimated 81 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, which is the same amount of energy needed to keep the refrigerator running for a week.

Overall, the new trees saved an estimated 3.6 million kilowatt-hours, and will help lessen the demand for electricity and more power plants.

Mature trees also help combat global warming by removing excess carbon dioxide from the air and they can each hold some 50 gallons of water, which controls storm-water runoff.

The DWP offers up to seven five-gallon trees, with 50 varieties from which to choose, including jacaranda, white alder, camphor tree, Canary Island pine, California sycamore and Southern magnolia.

Kerry Cavanaugh, [phone]

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Daniel Avey shows the two trees he received from the DWP on Saturday for completing an online tree planting and maintenance course.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer