Going Green: Trees Columbus preserves and grows our urban canopy
Sometimes a name says it all.
Simple yet profound, Trees Columbus’s mission is to “plant, preserve and protect” the city’s urban tree canopy. Since forming in 2000—in response to city plans to remove 150 trees from Lakebottom Park—the environmental advocacy and awareness organization has planted nearly 15,000 trees and helped enact local legislation critical to making Columbus a sustainable, beautiful community.
“There are obvious reasons why it’s important to have an urban tree canopy,” explains Trees Columbus Executive Director Dorothy McDaniel from the Trees Columbus office on the second floor of the Spencer Environmental Center, which also houses the Nature Conservancy and the Coalition for Sound Growth in the stately, restored 1837 Swift-Kyle House. “Trees clean the air; they clean the water; and they help mitigate the urban heat island, meaning they lower the temperature—through shade and evapotranspiration [trees absorb water in the roots and releases it through leaves]—and help keep us cool in the summer.”
“There are a also social and psychological effects,” continues McDaniel, who is joined on the Trees Columbus staff by Assistant Director Candice Wayman and Paige Swift (membership, special events, fundraising). “We are starting to see studies documenting how urban tree canopy contributes to greater quality of life across the board. We relate better to each other. Trees contribute to mental health and bring crime rates down. People are more likely to shop in areas where there is a tree canopy. When looking at our social spaces downtown, the trees provide an outdoor room. If there were no trees in the median of Broadway, people would not be gathering there.”
The impact of Trees Columbus is obvious, too. The city was persuaded not to cut down 150 trees in Lakebottom Park in 2000. Since then, the group has successfully advocated for the enactment of the commonly called “the trees ordinance” (requiring residential developers to obtain permit from the city arborist to ensure trees are planted during construction) and the “big box” ordinance (requiring developers of big-box retailers to also plant trees sufficient for approval by the city arborist). In addition to countless plantings along neighborhoods, schools and bicycle trails, Trees Columbus has completed such high-visibility projects as the Veterans Parkway streetscape with its planting of trees along the thoroughfare from 13th Street to the Civic Center.
“Trees Columbus provided some basic infrastructure to put Columbus ahead of the curve as far as urban forestry,” says McDaniel, currently at work on a grant-funded study that examines the city’s tree canopy using aerial photography, “and helped integrate trees into city planning in a way a lot of communities have not done yet. In the future, I think we can build on the excitement around the outdoors in Columbus. We have a lot of people coming to town who want to be outside. People who are interested in hiking, cycling and whitewater rafting. They are a perfect fit for our mission and we can provide them opportunities to get involved, have a fun social experience and help build community.”
Trees Columbus celebrates Earth Day with its annual Spring for the Green fundraiser the evening of Tuesday, April 17 at the Spencer Environmental Center (303 12th St.).
by Frank Etheridge