Boots on the ground

The Urban Forestry Commission plans to spend time in different communities listening to residents, hoping to understand what tree maintenance means to them. “We want to put boots on the ground and talk to residents and committee groups where they are,” said Maintenance Committee Chair Dan Leamon. 

Jennifer Kipp, who leads the city’s Urban Forestry unit and is also on the committee, said the listening walks will begin in the footprint of Burten Bell Carr Development, followed by the coverage area of Slavic Village Development. 

Are you a Cleveland resident between the ages of 11 and 17?

If you also have a passion for trees, the Urban Forestry Commission wants to hear from you! The commission is still recruiting for a youth resident to participate in quarterly meetings. Parent or guardian permission required.

Click here to access the application.

Money trees

Cleveland has almost $3 million in backlogged work orders for tree maintenance, according to City Council Member Jenny Spencer. Spencer, who also chairs the budget committee for the Urban Forestry Commission, said the total includes a $2.4 million backlog of tree removal and critical tree pruning work plus more than $400,000 needed for stump grinding.

The city needs to find a way to fund the work, said Spencer. One option she mentioned was using leftover money from the 2023 budget. Spencer also noted that these work orders are complaint-driven and separate from ongoing maintenance.

Grant-funded

The city recently applied for a $1 million grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The city would use $810,000 for tree pruning, 100 tree plantings and 100 tree stump removals.

It would use $165,048 for a new field operations forester program manager. The grant is intended to fund projects in “disadvantaged communities” as defined by the Council on Environmental Quality’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.

Award decisions are expected on Jan. 31.

Cleveland Metroparks, Western Reserve Land Conservancy, and Holden Forest and Gardens also applied for funding. Both MetroParks and the conservancy applied for funds to plant 600 trees total. Holden Forest and Gardens applied for $350,000 to fund an agricultural workforce development program.

Read more from Documenter Ronaldo Rodriguez Jr.:

Read the live-tweet thread from Documenter Daniel McLaughlin:

Suggested Reading

Cleveland Tree Coalition eyes 30% tree canopy by 2040

Cleveland’s tree canopy – or the percentage of land covered by trees – is 18%. A city partner wants to increase that to 30% by 2040.

by Doug Breehl-Pitorak and Cleveland Documenters