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Last fall, the City planted approximately 150 trees along the Rapid tracks on
Van Aken Boulevard, thanks to a $50,000 grant from Cuyahoga County.
Grants Help City Restore Tree Canopy
Data drives plans for new tree plantings
By the end of spring, more than 200 trees will be planted in areas where the City’s tree
canopy needs to be strengthened, including in the Moreland neighborhood and along
the Van Aken Boulevard median.
Grants totaling $80,000 from Cuyahoga County and Boise Paper helped fund the
effort. And here’s a fun fact: City staff determined the best locations for the new trees
using Cuyahoga County’s Geographic Information System data. This data shows where
tree coverage is lowest in the County.
“The GIS data showed that southern Moreland is one of our neighborhoods with
the lowest tree canopy coverage,” explains Kara Hamley O’Donnell, a principal planner
for the City. “We knew we wanted to target that area, and applied to the Arbor Day
Foundation for the grant.”
The City received a $30,000 grant from Boise Paper through its partnership
with the Arbor Day Foundation. That will allow the City to plant more than 60 trees
in Moreland, filling open areas in the neighborhood’s tree lawns. Once complete,
Moreland’s tree lawns will be fully planted with trees, according to Charles Orlowski,
the City’s forester.
The County’s 2019 Urban Tree Canopy Assessment showed that Shaker Heights
has lost about 11 percent of its tree canopy since the 2013 assessment. Restoring the
canopy County-wide – only 35 percent of County land is tree canopy – has become a
priority, including in Shaker Heights.
Other areas of focus, based on the GIS data, are the Ludlow neighborhood and the
Van Aken Boulevard median. “We are trying to improve the canopy in these areas too,”
says Orlowski.
Last fall, the City used the almost $50,000 it received from Cuyahoga County’s
Healthy Urban Tree Canopy Grant Program to plant upwards of 150 trees along four
miles of the Van Aken median, from Parkland Drive west to South Woodland Road.
The City has also been working with the not-for-profit Heights Tree People on a
tree-planting project for the Ludlow neighborhood.
“By spring, we’ll just about be up to full capacity for tree lawn trees in the
Moreland and Ludlow neighborhoods,” Orlowski says.
Giveaway is conducted by and benefits ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®.
©2022 ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. (EXPM-7497)
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