Over 4,000 trees to be planted through community-wide effort

In its second year of funding, the County will invest $950,000 into its tree canopy by funding 25 projects for tree plans and tree planting sponsored by area municipalities, neighborhoods and nonprofits through the Cuyahoga County Healthy Tree Canopy Grant Program. This funding will spur the creation of 20 tree planting projects, five tree planning and planting projects and one new County tree nursery.

This innovative grant achieves an action identified in the County’s 2019 Climate Change Action Plan through the annual contribution of $1 million dollars for five years to revitalize the tree canopy in Cuyahoga County.

The County’s 2019 Urban Tree Canopy Assessment showed slightly more than 100,000 acres (34.7 percent) of all land in Cuyahoga County is tree canopy, with an additional 371,000 acres available for tree canopy. The first round of funding identified over 15,000 sites available for tree planting in multiple municipalities. Projects were selected based on a variety of factors, with special consideration given to projects that align with the County’s equity and vulnerability goals.

“We are making great progress toward our goal of increasing our tree canopy as we continue to plant thousands of trees across Cuyahoga County,” said County Executive Armond Budish. “Working closely with communities, neighborhoods, and nonprofits, we’ve been able to make critical improvements in tree canopy coverage in areas that tend to be more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. I applaud municipalities for their dedication to increasing their canopy coverage, which will ultimately improve the well-being of all residents.”

This second round of grants supports the implementation of community urban forestry plans, expanding tree canopy through community reforestation projects and implementing high impact reforestation projects. The Healthy Urban Tree Canopy Grant Program will gather data about each project, monitor its success, and produce an annual report that will better inform project selection and funding for each successive year of grant funding.

“Trees are critical for so many things—helping with local air quality and storm water runoff, providing summer shade and minimizing air conditioning costs, and generally assisting with overall mental health. That’s why the County continues to put resources into helping strengthen tree plantings in communities,” said Cuyahoga County Sustainability Director Mike Foley. “Planting trees is important, but making sure they are healthy and will survive for the next 50 to 75 years is paramount for a successful tree canopy restoration program. This grant program allows us to continue to increase our canopy across dozens of municipalities in a healthy and sustainable way.”

Over 4,000 trees will be planted during this second phase, which will bring the total number of trees planted across both rounds to over 5,400. In addition, one tree nursery will be created in the City of Parma through this grant funding. Overseen by the West Creek Conservancy, Stearns Farm in Parma will serve as a fully functional native tree nursery, garden compost processing site, vegetation research location and “native Ohio wildflower” nursery.

“The County Planning Commission is honored to be part of this program committee and commend the County Executive for making funding available,” said Planning Commission Director Mary Cierebiej. “The interest in the Tree Canopy Grant Program was even greater this year than in 2019. We encourage applicants that did not receive funding to apply next year; we are happy to provide guidance. Our tree canopies are critically important to the future of our communities; we are thrilled to see the significant number of trees that will be planted as part of the 2021 program. We encourage every community in Cuyahoga County to consider sustainable and healthy growth as your plan for your future.”