New Trees Popping Up All Over Brecksville, Thanks to a Grant

Brecksville removed more than 100 trees from across the city this year.

And, true to its , planted just as many.

The city received a grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources last spring to take down ash trees and replace them with other varieties. Ash trees have been hit hard by the , an insect that has only become a serious issue in recent years.

According to the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the emerald ash borer was first identified in the state in 2003. The bug burrows into the tree and kill it within three to five years. Infestations of the insect have been found in 56 counties, including Cuyahoga.

The insect only affects ash trees, much like the Dutch elm disease of the past hurt elm trees only. The department has always tried to plant a variety of trees for just that reason, said .

Ash trees thrive in wet soil, Owen said—something Brecksville has a lot of near its riverbeds. The department marked a lot of trees for removal in uncultivated areas, such as those lining the roads in the parks, and opted to plant new trees in more developed areas.

The planting for this grant was split between spring and fall. In the spring, the department focused on and the Echo Hills development, planting five different kinds of trees, from oaks to sycamores to basswoods. Any planting on tree lawns in the neighborhoods was based on a lottery—only residents who wanted a tree received one.

In the fall, much of the planting took place in the Blossom Hill development. Owen said there had been an apple and pear orchard in the Blossom Hill area in the 1930s, and some of the grant money went toward buying crab apple trees to represent that old orchard.

The grant was a 50-50 match. Owen said the total grant was good for $37,500. Half came from the city and half will be reimbursed by the grant. The grant allowed the city’s share to include pay for labor. The city contracted out the tree removal and planted the replacements in-house. Owen said the city ended up putting in about $5,000 more than necessary for their share.