Blazing heat, choking pollution and skyrocketing electric bills. What's one way to combat all these problems at once? Plant trees.

Trouble is, compared to other large cities, the Dallas area doesn't have nearly enough.

But a dedicated corps of volunteers stands ready to fulfill a mission that could make life better for us all: plant more trees and cool down our urban oceans of concrete.

They're training to be "citizen foresters."

"Trees and green spaces are exceptionally good for our mental state," said volunteer, John Hunt.

"There's just tremendous value to the shade effect," added volunteer Michael Stevens.

"Born and raised in Dallas. I have family here - two young boys. And I want to try to leave it better for them," said volunteer, Heather Glenn.

To fully understand the benefits of trees in the city, you have to go where there are no trees in the city. When the outside temperature hits 100 degrees, the temperature on the pavement can hit 120 degrees. But where city streets are lined with trees, the temperature on the pavement can check in at 90 degrees. That's almost 30 degrees cooler.

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Trees along the southbound frontage road to Woodall Rodgers Freeway.

"That's a huge number," said Steve Houser, chairman of the Dallas Urban Forest Advisory Committee, which reports to the Dallas City Council.

He's an activist constantly pushing the city to plant more trees.

But how many? And where?

"We cannot manage an asset that we don't fully understand and can't fully recognize to begin with," said Houser.

Other cities around the country have counted trees by hand. But that takes 10 years or more.

"It sure seems there's a better faster way to do it," Houser said.

He thinks he has a better idea so puts on his tree climbing gear and heads up into the canopy. There, he gathers leaf samples, from a wide variety of trees. Then he takes them to Dr. Fang Qui, a professor at UT Dallas. He records each tree's distinct digital code.

"Using remote sensing we can save a lot field work," said Dr. Qui.

Eventually, a high-tech camera will fly over the city and identify the variety, quantity, and location of the city's trees.

"We know we're not just sticking trees in willy-nilly, we're trying to find the exact spots that will have the most amount of benefit," Houser said. "Which is where we wanted to start in the beginning," he added.

Armed with that information, Houser can then send out his army of volunteers to places like Harry Hines Boulevard, where trees are few and far between.

And the planting can begin.

"We can't have large, existing trees in the northern Dallas area unless we've grown them, and we've preserved them. And properly maintained them for a long period of time," Houser said.

E-mail dschechter@wfaa.com.