Georgia Arbor Day: Atlanta Commissioner Joins Volunteers

ATLANTA, GA — Protecting Atlanta’s tree canopy has been a priority for Commissioner Matt Westmoreland since before he was elected into office, he said. On Friday, which is also Georgia Arbor Day, he joined President of the Arbor Day Foundation, Dan Lambe, nonprofit Trees Atlanta and the community in a tree planting event.

The One Million Trees Initiative, which launched Thursday by Trees Atlanta, aims to plant one million trees in 10 years. The one million trees will include trees planted in city land and public projects, preserved in forested areas, and installed by individuals on private property, including residential yards and businesses.

Atlanta City Council members recognized the new initiative on Monday in a proclamation. The city said it will partner with the nonprofit to help with tree planting and the educational component.

Westmoreland said that the council is in the process of reviewing and rewriting the tree protection ordinance, one that hasn’t been touched in 20 years.

“Atlanta proudly considers itself to be a city in a forest,” he said. “We have the largest canopy of any major city in the country, but we also are seeing a lot of it disappear everyday.”

“As the city gets more dense, it’s important that we protect our trees. As the planet warms, having a really robust canopy has never been more important.”

About 25 volunteers gathered on Friday to help plant 40 trees at Freedom Park in the Fourth Ward neighborhood. There were at least seven different varieties, including white oak and southern red oak. An additional 80 were being planted simultaneously at another nearby location.

“We’re all thrilled that the City of Atlanta was the first city to sign up to be one of our 10 cities,” said Greg Levine, the organization’s co-executive director. He told Patch that similar campaigns have occurred across the country, but this one is unique.

"Every one million tree campaigns we’ve seen, or even larger, really focus on replanting,” he said. “We’re actually saving trees and we’re planting trees.”

The initiative has garnered the support of 10 Atlanta-based nonprofits: Atlanta Audubon Society, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Georgia Conservancy, Park Pride, The Conservation Fund, The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land, WABE, West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, and Trees Atlanta.

With the City of Atlanta on board, Levine said he hopes to see nine other metro-Atlanta cities join the initiative.

Frequent volunteer and Georgia State University sophomore, D'Angelo DeShields said he supports it and wanted to do his part.

“With global warming happening, we need trees,” he said. “It’s important, so I appreciate that people are taking the initiative to give back to the environment and plant trees. Anything I can do to help with that, I’m down to do.”

Westmoreland said that the trees provide several benefits. One million trees, for example, will collect 1.4 billion gallons of water annually. He said that will help with runoff and improve the water and air quality. The trees even lower temperatures.

“They also help with illnesses like asthma, which a lot of our residents face,” he said. “It’s good news all around and I’m proud the city is a partner.”