The tallest tree living in Lake County’s Holden Arboretum is a 142-foot tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) that was last measured in 2009. The oldest is a chestnut oak (Quercus montana) that is more than 400 years old. Those may not be quite as grand as the giant sequoia on the West Coast, but Ohioans should still marvel at their existence.
Earth’s biggest trees are best for fighting air pollution, reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and holding stormwater. But the world needs more than just big trees. It needs more trees, period. A lot more trees. And quickly.
“The latest tree study undertaken by the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission in 2019 provides hard proof that the tree canopy is on the decline,” says Jill Koski, president and CEO of Holden Forests and Gardens. “The study helped us identify target numbers for planting and preserving trees. [We need] 5,000 trees per year in Cleveland just to replace those that have been lost; 35,000 trees per year if we want to get our urban forest to healthy cover for people and the environment.”
Trees are imperative to the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. They clean the environment and provide oxygen, food and shelter material. It would be difficult to find a smart politician, businessperson or community leader who would publicly speak out against trees or restoring/creating a tree canopy. (Canopy cover is the area shaded by trees.)
Disease, pests, pollution and climate change are major reasons why trees die. Scientists and arborists fight those challenges. There are also more subtle reasons why tree planting efforts sometimes get lost in the woods. Jealousy among communities, neighborhoods and local governments, competition for recognition and disagreements as to the best ways to reach reforestation and canopy increase can be unpleasant and sometimes counterproductive.
However, urgency has sparked cooperation. In Northeast Ohio, many major players have joined forces to ensure future generations know the joy and benefits of being near healthy trees.
“This is a big issue and no one organization can do it alone,” says Koski.
Western Reserve Land Conservancy
The city of Cleveland’s Section of Urban Forestry has ramped up its efforts to regreen and plant more street trees. The Cleveland Tree Coalition (CTC), launched in 2016 as the citywide tree master plan, is also providing major support to get the city back under its canopy.
The coalition that has formed appointed Western Reserve Land Conservancy (WRLC) as its chair. Elizabeth Grace, WRLC director of urban fundraising, serves as the coalition’s interim chair, guiding approximately 50 partners that include educational institutions, health systems, community development corporations, businesses, financial institutions, nonprofits and private concerns. WRLC President and CEO Rich Cochran is chairman of the CTC’s nine-member executive committee.
“We plant 500 trees a year in Cleveland and maintain almost 1,000 on a three-year cycle,” says Grace.
That’s not all. Under the Cleveland Tree Plan (CTP), between 360,000 to 1 million trees will be planted during the next 20 years, according to Cochran, calling the project “transformational.”
“We are 100% sure that is going to happen,” says Cochran. “It’s a matter of marshalling resources and continuing to build public sentiment so people understand why it is so important. It’s not just to beautify the city, it’s also essential for mental and physical health.”
Cochran says at least a decade of solid, detailed research on the need for adequate tree canopies and urban trees has proven that it can’t wait. Consider, for example, urban heat islands, areas with little to no trees where temperatures can be 20% to 30% hotter than in leafy suburbs.
“People die because of heat islands and those people live in formerly red-lined neighborhoods. It’s a continuation of the repression of African Americans who are now exposed to this health risk,” says Cochran, noting Cleveland has an overall tree canopy cover of 18%, but in more distressed areas, that can sink to 10% or lower.
In addition, Cochran sited a Belgian study indicating that tree canopies were associated with IQ. The research showed that for a 3% increase in children’s exposure to green areas, children’s IQ scores increased by any average of 2.6 points.
“We are convinced the CTP will work because there are so many reasons it must happen,” says Cochran.
Another major reason to plant trees is their significant ability to soak up stormwater that wreaks havoc with sewers and waterways and causes flooding. Trees also act as filters for soil and water and provide shelter and food for a diversity of wildlife. (And of course, every kid should be able to climb a tree or sit in the shade and read a book.)
“In the 1800s, we had a similar dynamic and everyone knew we needed a healthy tree canopy. All of the great cities in Europe and America — Paris, Vienna, New York — had great reforestation efforts,” says Cochran. “But with the invention of air conditioning, in particular, we neglected our canopies more and more. We have collectively allowed the canopy to dwindle. But there is no reason we can’t do it again.”
WRLC offers several opportunities for environmental groups, businesses and individuals to become involved in regreening efforts. Cleveland stopped planting maple trees in 2019, however, because the popularity of these trees has a lessened diversity of species. If a maple tree disease arrived, no one wants something like another Dutch elm disease situation, which wiped out masses of elms, according to Grace. Instead, consider white oak, black cherry, sycamores, tulip, redbuds and others.
“There is a debate whether all new trees should be natives opposed to non-natives,” says Grace. “But some trees in urban areas just work better than others.”
The City’s Plan
The city of Cleveland’s Urban Forestry Section has a budget of $2 to $3 million a year. In 2019, Mayor Frank Jackson pledged an additional $1 million annually for 10 years to restore the city’s tree canopy. The goal is to reach 30% by 2030. According to the city’s Office of Sustainability, only 750 ash trees are still living from almost 7,000 in 2013. The emerald ash borer destroyed a huge chunk of the canopy.
“The biggest challenge is really the volume of trees we need to plant to reverse the trend of canopy loss,” says Chief of Sustainability Jason Wood. “Planting trees, and more importantly, successfully establishing trees, is an expensive endeavor. We plant the standard size for a municipality — 1.75 inches to 2.25 inches caliper. Our average planting costs are about $500 per tree, and this does not include the long-term maintenance costs.”
Wood also says the city is running out of “plantable locations.” More effort, he believes, is needed to increase tree plantings on private property. In addition, the volume of trees needed “has stressed” the city’s ability to obtain the kinds of trees appropriate for this planting zone and its colder temperatures. Trees are only available from a fixed group of nurseries. Also, overhead utilities on tree lawns further restrict the planting of large shade trees. Even so, the city’s tree planting efforts were up 300% in 2020 compared to the previous five-year average.
The city’s Tree Canopy Revitalization Program accepts requests online from property owners for a free tree to be installed on tree lawns in spring or fall. It can take as long as a year to receive a tree from this first-come, first-served program.
Cleveland Metroparks
During the past nine years, Cleveland Metroparks has planted 32,000 trees in its 18 reservations. Because trees have different growth rates and support different wildlife with their seeds and nuts, a variety of trees were chosen to provide species richness and beautiful forests.
“What’s even more important is that we plant a forest that is representative of that community to recreate or expand the existing forest,” says Constance Hausman, senior conservation science manager for Cleveland Metroparks. “Each reservation has a unique assembly of tree species and habitats. For example, we don’t have a lot of land in the city of Cleveland. But when we do plant in our lakefront reservations, we choose trees that are tolerant of a windblown, blustery ice lakeshore. Those areas are also a migratory flyover, so we create structures and food sources for birds.”
Hausman says the reforestation efforts of the Cleveland Metroparks have a “different objective” from regreening tasks in urban areas or improving a big city’s canopy (reforesting natural habitats rather than street trees). However, like cities, the Cleveland Metroparks, didn’t escape the major devastation of ash trees.
“Within the state of Ohio, even within our natural forests, 1 in 10 trees was an ash tree. That was a substantial loss for us, too,” says Hausman. “Early restoration, grant-funded projects targeted replacing ash trees in our western reservations.”
Hausman says there was an upside to the light gap left by the dead trees.
“So, the big trees, if they were there before the ash loss, are now a little less crowded. We always want to think of trees as a growing network of connectivity. It’s important to place trees in areas where we are buffering existing forest patches,” says Hausman, adding one way to reach that goal is to partner with public and private organizations with similar goals. “We are doing everything we can to ensure we provide a healthy, resilient forest that is tolerant to future climate change.”
Hausman says some things can’t be predicted, including vandalism, floods and deer damage that wreak havoc with tree success. However, the park district “is always mindful to replace, repair and replant.”
Cleveland Metroparks partners with Lake Erie Allegheny Partnership (LEAP) for Biodiversity, a consortium of conservation-based organizations and watershed groups to plant trees to help stabilize soil, protect riparian areas and maintain tree canopies.
Holden Forests and Gardens
Holden Forests and Gardens didn’t let the COVID-19 pandemic stop its tree planning efforts even outside its 3,500-acre Holden Arboretum in Kirtland and the 11-acre Cleveland Botanical Garden in University Circle. Holden assisted with tree plantings undertaken by Slavic Village Development, MidTown Cleveland and Detroit Shoreway Community Development Corp., as well as other groups in 2020. On its own properties, Holden has planted 2,811 trees throughout the past 20 years, representing 373 species, according to Courtney Blashka, director of community forestry.
People for Trees is Holden’s newest movement to encourage the planting of 15,000 trees with the help of volunteers across Northeast Ohio by 2025.
“We can each play a critical role to ensure there is equitable access to green space for all people, especially those communities in greatest need,” Koski says, noting that 85% of forested land is in private hands.
With climate change and other challenges, Holden arborists believe these trees are among those that will thrive in Northeast Ohio in the coming decades: butternut hickory, black oak, black walnut, bur oak, eastern redcedar and scarlet oak. Blaska says to “tease out the root system” before planting any tree, select a tree that matches the conditions where it is planted, adequately water it during its first two seasons and forget that volcano of mulch. Neglecting to do any of those things can impede growth.
“Trees and plants sustain life. Without them, people can’t survive, much less thrive,” warns Koski. “It’s essential to advocate for trees, giving trees a voice.”