Month: April 2022

Cleveland Tree Coalition member organizations are celebrating trees in Cleveland all week long.

In celebration of the 150^th Anniversary of Arbor Day, the Cleveland Tree Coalition – a collaborative group of public, private and community stakeholders that have partnered with the City of Cleveland to rebuild our urban forest – will host a series of virtual and in-person events to celebrate Arbor Day in Cleveland.

The Cleveland Tree Coalition members will be posting social media content throughout the week using the hashtag: #ArborDayCLE. Additional Arbor Week events include:

• Tuesday. April 26
  • Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District and Friends of Euclid Creek will host an in-person seminar called “Green Yards & Healthy Homes” to demonstrate how to replace chemicals in your home and yard with natural-safe options.
  • Western Reserve Land Conservancy’s Zoom into Nature webinar series will highlight Arbor Week with Foundations of Tree Identification. Attendees will join Lizzie Sords, certified Arborist, to learn the basics of tree ID and common plant terminology that they can use to start to identify the trees in their own neighborhoods. This webinar will set attendees up to continue to learn and practice tree ID on their own as our trees begin to leaf out and bloom.
• Thursday, April 28
  • The Davey Tree Expert Company will host a Facebook Live discussion to “Ask an Arborist” as certified arborists Jim Jenkins will be online to answer any questions about tree care and maintenance.
  • Cleveland Metroparks will host an Arbor Day Drop-by where kids can drop by CanalWay Center to celebrate trees and the 150^th anniversary of Arbor Day, as well as 2 hikes “Saving the Chestnut” and “Meet the Trees”.
• Friday, April 29
  • Cleveland Metroparks will continue celebrating Arbor Week by getting people outside and to the parks to see the trees, Friday’s hikes include “Our Glorious Trees”, “Big Trees”, and “Treerific Trees”.
  • The City of Euclid and City of Richmond Heights are hosting Arbor Day Celebrations for their residents.
  • In observance of Arbor Day on Friday, April 29th, Holden Forests & Gardens will offer free admission to the Cleveland Botanical Garden and the Holden Arboretum. Free tree seedlings will be distributed at Cleveland Botanical Garden between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and at the Holden Arboretum between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., or while supplies last at each campus. Trees that will be distributed are: Red maple, Acer rubrum, Sugar maple, Acer saccharum, Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Serbian spruce, Picea omorika.
• Saturday, April 30
  • Cleveland Metroparks will host “Big Trees in the Valley” hike where attendees will discover the different species of trees that enjoy living in the river valley.
  • Fun for the whole family – Nature Center at Shaker Lakes will be hosting a Family Exploration Day, featuring a wildflower hike, creek exploration, and caterpillar/butterfly monitoring.
  • “Grow not Mow” by Doan Brook Partnership will have volunteers planting 60+ buttonbush and silky dogwood in this marshy area to absorb stormwater, prevent erosion during severe weather events and provide habitat for native wildlife.
  • Tree-t yourself to a free tree this Arbor Day at Western Reserve Land Conservancy’s Arbor Day Tree Adoption. In an effort to raise the tree canopy in Cleveland, 160 trees will be given away to city of Cleveland residents.
  • Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District will host their annual “Big Creek Cleanup” to protect or local streams and Lake Erie.
  • “Flow and Grow” in MidTown will feature a Neighborhood Community Tree Planting and Celebration from 12-4 p.m. at the Dunham Tavern. The event will feature local food as well as a yoga session from instructor Dawn M. Rivers. AJ and The Confirmation Band will also perform! Volunteers are still needed!

The 2015 Cleveland Tree Plan set a target to increase Cleveland’s tree canopy cover from 19% to 30% by 2040. Although the region has made progress in the past six years, according to a report compiled by the Cleveland Tree Coalition, tree canopy cover continues to decline. Neighborhood canopy cover varies widely, ranging from 35% to 4% across the city. From heat island effects to stormwater benefits, the effect of urban forest decline affects BIPOC communities disproportionately, systemically. The 2020 update calls for the Cleveland community to rise creatively and collectively to grow an equitable canopy. This includes peeling many layers of systemic injustices to address health and environmental detriments, and creating just accessible and green opportunities in the process.