COLUMBUS, OH - Mansfield municipal leaders will now be able to plant trees in older, inner-city neighborhoods thanks to a $12,500 grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Forestry.
According to state foresters, increasing tree cover in these areas has a positive impact on air quality, as well as overall quality of life for residents. Trees also aid in slowing storm runoff from roofs, sidewalks and paved streets.
“Tree cover intercepts, slows, evaporates, and stores water, thus reducing runoff,” said Drew Todd, state urban forestry coordinator for the Division of Forestry.
The statewide Inner-City Grant Program is sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service and targets the tree-planting needs of older, more densely populated residential sections of cities. In Ohio, the ODNR Division of Forestry administers the program.
The City of Mansfield will provide an in-kind match of $12,500 for a total project budget of $25,000. Approximately 100, 2-inch caliper trees will be planted in wards four, five, and six of the city.
Mansfield’s tree-planting plan was developed in cooperation with its Shade Tree Commission to meet the quality of life needs of targeted neighborhoods and to increase awareness of urban forestry benefits to residents of those neighborhoods. Mansfield is a designated Tree City USA community.
The Division of Forestry’s Urban Forestry Program provides community officials with the organizational and technical ability to effectively manage trees along streets, within parks, and on public grounds. A statewide network of regional urban foresters helps in this effort.