CLEVELAND — The Western Reserve Land Conservancy and the Cleveland Tree Coalition reiterated alarming numbers about the on-going shrinkage of Cleveland's tree canopy, especially in east-side neighborhoods.
Coalition Executive Director Samira Malone told News 5 that Cleveland is losing 75 to 90 acres of tree canopy every year, and even though her team of agencies is on pace to plant 3,000 to 5,000 new trees this year, it would take more than five times that number to turn around the current tree loss trend.
“We are sitting about 18% tree canopy coverage, and if nothing was to happen, and there was absolutely no planning or preservation efforts put in place, then we’d be at a 14% canopy by 2040," Malone said. “So the goal of the Cleveland Tree Plan is to reach a 30% canopy by 2040, but in order to do so we need to plant about 28,000 trees per year and that doesn’t even take into account the trees that we need to preserve.”
Tom Schreiber, Manager of Community Forestry with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, told News 5 that lower-income neighborhoods on Cleveland's east side are being disproportionately victimized by the ongoing tree canopy loss.
“In a city, you have to make space for trees. They have to be intentionally planted and intentionally cared for, and in our city's black and brown neighborhoods that hasn’t been done the way that it was in the wealthier white neighborhoods," Schreiber said. “It’s going to take a lot of time, energy, focus and money to reverse that trend.”
John Palmer, Cleveland ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, told News 5 that residents can't just rely on the government to help save the city tree canopy. Palmer said homeowners and business owners need to get involved, select the right trees and learn how to plant trees properly through websites like Trees4Ohio.
“I think the biggest problem is a lack of education," Palmer said. “It’s community involvement, it's people educating themselves and going, I can plant a tree. But you don’t have to plant a 10-foot-tall tree and pay hundreds of dollars. You can buy a smaller tree, plant it properly and protect it.”
Palmer also believes a crucial part of the plan needs to address saving existing larger trees, which make up a significant part of Cleveland's remaining tree canopy.
"I believe it’s more important to save larger trees than it is to save new trees," Palmer said. “Because the larger trees are giving us greater benefits, if you lose a large tree that has an 80-foot-wide canopy and replace it with an 8-foot-wide tree, we’ve lost.”
Meanwhile, Schreiber said residents can apply for a free tree for their yard through the Trees4CLE program.
"In the Fall, we will plant over 100 Trees in the Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood, in private yards, pocket parks, vacant lots and at new homes in partnership with Habitat for Humanity," Schrieber said.
Palmer said Cleveland residents need to be a significant part of the tree canopy solution:
“We have to be tree-centric, not me-centric; otherwise, there is going to be very little hope to get those canopy numbers higher," Palmer said. “I’d rather have a Girl Scout troop plant two trees this Saturday properly, in a good location, than I would to have somebody say we’re going to plant 1,000 over the next year and do it wrong."
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