The Wilmington Tree Initiative kicked off Thursday morning at Empie Park. WHQR reports the collaboration, led by the City of Wilmington, also includes New Hanover County, UNCW, CFCC, and nonprofit groups to grow the urban forest in the Port City.
Wilmington City Council doubled the tree budget in 2019and says they’re working on updating the land development code to review open space requirements, tree preservation, planning, and maintenance.
The Wilmington Tree Initiative is part of this effort, and has two basic components.
The first is to plant trees, with an emphasis on the right location. Here’s Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo:
What we find a lot of times when we plant trees, we plant them and then they grow and then they get under power lines. And then the power company comes down and trims and back, and then people get upset or they get in the utility contractor's way and then they're damaged.
The goal is to plant 1,739 trees by fall of 2021, a nod to the year the city was incorporated.
As for the second component?
Educate the public on the value of trees, as well as how to select plant and maintain trees.
The Mayor said it best:
Who doesn’t love trees?
