Columbus nonprofit gets $900K to plant 500 trees in city’s under-served parks

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Since its inception in 2000, Trees Columbus’ goal has been to protect and restore Columbus’ tree canopy, which has declined over time. But with little resources and funding, the nonprofit hasn’t been able to make the desired sizable shifts in the urban forest. That is set to change — the organization received a $900,000 grant earlier this year that will allow Trees Columbus to plant 500 trees between now and 2028 in overburdened and under-served parks that haven’t experienced tree restoration and proper tree planting in over 60 years.

Credit: Kala Hunter/Ledger-Enquirer

Since its inception in 2000, Trees Columbus’ goal has been to protect and restore Columbus’ tree canopy, which has declined over time. But with little resources and funding, the nonprofit hasn’t been able to make the desired sizable shifts in the urban forest.

That is set to change — the organization received a $900,000 grant earlier this year that will allow Trees Columbus to plant 500 trees between now and 2028 in overburdened and under-served parks that haven’t experienced tree restoration and proper tree planting in over 60 years.

“We’ve done small plantings here and there and mainly volunteer-based, but we’ve never been able to do anything like this before,” Dorothy McDaniel, the executive director of Trees Columbus, said.

The grant was awarded in January and was the second-largest Trees Across Georgia grant from the Georgia Forestry Commission. The grant is funneled down from the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided $1.5 billion for state and private forestry conservation programs. In Georgia, $9.75 million was allocated.

Other cities outside of Atlanta, which won the majority, include Macon which won $254,000 and Athens at $600,000.

The money must be used to support environmental justice and disadvantaged communities experiencing low tree canopy as part of the Justice40 initiative, which requires 40% of federal climate investments to flow to communities that haven’t seen enough investment to fight an overburden of pollution.

Rules around the money dictate that a census tract is “disadvantaged” if it meets one of eight thresholds from the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool. Those eight thresholds include: health, energy, housing, legacy pollution, climate change, transportation, workforce development, and water/wastewater. These are measured through various data organizations like American Community Surveys, National Risk Index, PLACES Data and several others.

Where in Columbus can these tress be planted?

There are a handful of areas in Columbus that meet the thresholds.

Carver Park in East Columbus is part of a census tract that has health issues including diabetes and is considered low-income, according to the screening tool.

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Shirley Winston Park is within a census tract that is considered disadvantaged as it has transportation and health burdens per the Climate and Environmental Justice Screening Tool meeting the tree planting eligibility.

Credit: Screenshot from Council on Environmental Quality

Shirley Winston Park has health and transportation barriers, and Lakebottom Park has health and legacy pollution thresholds. Theo McGee Park, off Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, meets five of the eight thresholds including energy, health, housing, legacy pollution and workforce development.

Trees Columbus didn’t waste any time planning or planting trees, working in partnership with Columbus Consolidated Government Parks and Recreation and Arborist George Barker.

The group was the first recipient in Georgia to start planting, according to McDaniel.

The group had already planted 175 trees in Carver Park and Lakebottom Park this year. They started with 25 trees in February at Lake Bottom. That included five pine trees, three sycamore trees and 17 oak trees.

The nonprofit collected tree inventory data in 2020 and took surveys about park preferences in 2021.

The need to replace aging Columbus trees

The 64-acre community park in Eastern Columbus at the border of Fort Moore, Carver Park, is covered in what Barker called mature “loblolly” pine trees. All are at least 75 years old or older, which is a problem because there is a lack of diversity in species and they are due for removal as the near “retirement.”

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The entrance to Carver Park. The Park will change names to be named after former Mayor Pro Tem Evelyn Turner Pugh later this year.

Credit: Kala Hunter/Ledger-Enquirer

“Between 15-20% of the trees at Carver need to be removed,” he said. “This park is a gem,” but he added, it needs maintenance and a more diverse tree population, citing potential for a southern pine beetle outbreak.

McDaniel said tree removal is something the city has to do. Trees Columbus only plants trees.

“Alabama is having the worst southern pine beetle outbreak in the last 25 years,” he said. “That’s why we have to plant these young to have something in place of these mature trees.”

McDaniel and Barker planted 75 native trees in the park earlier this year: 27 sycamore, 27 redbud and 10 oak trees.

The nascent trees line the pathway in the park beside the mature pine trees. In 15 years they will have a large canopy providing shade for park-goers, according to Barker.

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Trees Columbus lined the pathway at Carver Park with signs to keep disturbanes away while the area undergoes restoration. August 2024.

Credit: Kala Hunter/Ledger-Enquirer

Shade is increasingly vital as climate change brings more extreme heat days. Tree shade can reduce surface temperatures by up to 34 degrees, according to studies.

Next to the sycamores, Trees Columbus had a small Bobcat tractor churning and tilling an area of dirt that “was like concrete,” Barker said, to create a new tree bed for oak trees. They added a black biochar, which acts like a speedy compost or fertilizer.

“Planting them in a tree bed will be sort of self-maintenance,” Barker said. “By grouping trees together like how they grow in a forest, you don’t need to mow as much and they can self-prune.”

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Arborist George Barker talks about the need to prioritize trees growing in communities and soil health at Carver Park in August 2024.

Credit: Kala Hunter/Ledger-Enquirer

The group will plant the oak trees in the newly tilled beds later in the fall. Carver Park is also set to have a name change after former Mayor Pro Tem Evelyn Turner Pugh.

Holli Browder, director of Columbus Parks and Recreation Department, said the park will also receive a splash pad and have new bathrooms and a new playground. Browder could not confirm when these changes will happen but that they are part of the fiscal year 2025/2026 SPLOST dollars. The Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax is a 1% sales tax for Muscogee County that funds capital projects.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Trees Columbus and appreciate all their help in restoring our tree canopy,” Browder said. “ We value their expertise and dedication to enhancing our parks for the benefit of our community and future generations.”

‘Rehabilitating’ Soil at Shirley Winston Park

Conveying the need for healthy soil as a foundation for a healthy canopy has been a challenge for Trees Columbus.

“It’s very difficult to explain to people what this process was all about and the benefits,” Barker said. “It’s about rehabilitating the soil.”

Every time it rains the soil runs off and goes into drains. After tilling the soil and “building it up,” there will be less runoff, Barker explained.

“So much of our soil has been last because of storm water,” he said.

This is especially evident at Shirley Winston Park where Barker and another arborist were tilling parts of the park to eventually plant tulip poplars, and emerald ash, so it will absorb more water.

“Shirley Winston has a drainage system that needs trees like ash to support water,” he said. “We’re hoping to reduce the amount of water that runs into the drainage through the trees and clean the water while it goes.”

Trees Columbus will plant 25 trees to grow in community and share root space together. There will also be a row of black gum trees lining the median.

The canopy needs to be reestablished at Shirley Winston because the soil is not conducive for growth, Barker said.

McDaniel has yearned for Columbus park tree restoration projects for years, but the funding hasn’t been there.

“This federal grant is the reason we’re able to do this, and our hope is to continue to do this work in parks that aren’t eligible like Flat Rock Park and Cooper Creek Park.”

To keep the tree planting momentum, McDaniel and Barker are seeking private funding with hopes to match the 500 trees and plant 1,000 trees throughout more of the 51 Columbus parks.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Ledger-Enquirer.