Cleveland Tree Plan Receives Award From International Organization

CLEVELAND, OH — One of Cleveland's unofficial nicknames is the "Forest City." Picture a forest, and now picture Cleveland. See many similarities?

Other than the Metroparks, Cleveland may not look like a forest, in fact the city is losing most of its urban tree life. Since 1940 the city has lost 100,000 urban trees and about 97 acres of tree canopy is lost every year, according to Sustainable Cleveland 2019. Currently the city has a canopy cover of just 19 percent.

But in the future, that may change due to the Cleveland Tree Plan, which promises to make, "Cleveland the forest city once again."

The Tree Plan — created in 2015 as a collaboration among The City of Cleveland, Western Reserve Land Conservancy’s Thriving Communities Institute, LAND Studio, Holden Arboretum and Cleveland Neighborhood Progress — was recently awarded by the Ohio Chapter of the International Society for Arboriculture, announced the city.

The plan's main goal is to reverse the trend of diminishing urban tree life and canopy coverage in Cleveland. According to the Tree Plan's executive summary, Cleveland (19 percent) currently has less canopy cover than cities such as Pittsburg (40 percent), Cincinnati (38 percent) and even New York (24 percent).

So why is this important?

The Tree Plan estimates that even in its diminished state the tree canopy of Cleveland provides the city with services that value $28 million every year.

Here's how:

• Intercepts 1.8 billion gallons of rainwater every year (value: $11 million).
• Removes just under 830,000 pounds of air pollution every year (value: $1.8 million).
• Saves residents and business owners $3.5 million in energy costs each year.
• Reduces stress from high heat days, which has significant impacts on human health and energy needs.
• Removes 42,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year (value: $800,000). Additionally, across the lifetime of the canopy, Cleveland’s trees store another 1.3 million tons of carbon, valued at over $25 million.
• Improves public health by preventing approximately 1,200 incidents of health problems across a range of issues, including asthma, obesity, diabetes, and mental health (value: $6.9 million).
• Increases property values by an estimated $4.5 million. This in turn increases city revenues.
• Improves business districts by attracting consumers that shop longer and spend more.
• Helps maintain habitat for wildlife, both aquatic and forest, which is critical to wildlife conservation.
• Prevents erosion and high sediment levels in waterways and shipping channels.
• Builds stronger communities and revitalizes neighborhoods.
• Creates safer spaces for the public by slowing traffic speeds, lowering stress, and providing buffers for pedestrians.
• Blocks noise and pollution by almost 50% for those living near highways.

[Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons]