COLUMBUS – An out-of-town magazine writer wrote a glowing review in June of up-and-coming Columbus as a destination for millennials, describing Columbus as a “leafy city,” but city officials think it could be leafier.
READ MORE: In The Columbus Dispatch
Columbus’ tree canopy covers just 22 percent of the city, lower than similar cities, according to a study prepared for the Recreation and Parks Division of Forestry by consultant, Plan-It-Geo.
The study shows that the “urban tree canopy” covers more than 31,000 acres and provide economic, environmental, and social benefits the company valued at more than $12.1 million a year.
But some say Columbus could be shadier.
Columbus “looks like a gray blotch on the satellite image,” said Alex Silbajoris of the Friends of the Scioto River.
To that end, the city is launching its “Branch Out Columbus” campaign, working with 20 nonprofits to plant 300,000 medium-sized trees by the year 2020 and boost the tree cover to 27 percent.
The city is doing the following:
Spending $2.5 million to add 12,600 trees throughout city neighborhoods.
Providing $20,000 to pay for $50 rebates for residents who plant native trees on their own. That would amount to 400 trees; the initial rebates are available through Oct. 31. People can register online for the rebate at www.columbus.gov/branchout.
Preserving and restoring trees in all city-led construction projects.
The city will also create five urban tree nurseries to grow and provide trees for residents to plant in the surrounding neighborhoods.
The first is to be located on vacant land owned by the city’s Land Bank and Campus Partners on 8th Avenue near 5th Avenue.