From the Forester

“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
– Warren Buffet

It is so important for people and cities to think long-term and invest in the future, especially when our actions can be so impactful for generations to come. Whether the goal is combatting the effects of climate change or simply beautifying a park or front yard, 2021 has been a banner tree-planting year in our region.
 
Encouraging the mass planting of new trees is a two-step challenge. First, we must educate about the value of trees and our urban forest; secondly, we need to create funding sources for that restoration. After documenting the loss of tree canopy in Cuyahoga County from 2011 to 2021, the Cuyahoga County Planning Department has implemented the first goal, stating that the County lost 6% tree cover in the past six years for an average tree canopy ranging from 35% to 18% cover today. Experts predict that in urban area like ours, tree coverage could reduce to 14.7% by 2040—that is losing an average of 97 acres of trees per year!
 
County agencies like the Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District constantly publicize the environmental benefits of healthy tree canopy such as stormwater retention, erosion control and the absorption of greenhouse gases and other pollutants as well as energy conservation. Trees also provide habitat for native wildlife, including pollinators. The CSWD and many other local and state organizations also provide grant funding for tree conservation projects.
 
2021 has been a banner year for tree planting in Shaker Heights thanks to many funding sources now available to community groups, municipalities and environmental organizations. Here are the encouraging results for Shaker Heights and its urban forest this year.
 
Healthy Urban Tree Canopy Grant Program - The City of Shaker Heights received an award of $50,000 from the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission to plant 143 trees of 15 different species on the 3-mile stretch of the RTA median strip. The City contributed a 10% match to the County award.
 
The Heights Tree People, an organization focused on the planting of trees in the Heights, received a $1000 Conservation Action grant from the Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District to increase tree canopy in Southerly Park. Together with donated funds and volunteers from multiple organizations, this group planted 27 trees in Southerly Park where canopy has been lost due to maturity and severe weather events. Volunteers have watered these new trees all summer.
 
The Heights Tree People with support from the Tree Advisory Board of the City organized and implemented a “Front Yard Tree Planting Program” this past spring in which they planted 76 trees at no cost to Shaker residents in the front yards of their homes. The group also mulched, staked and protected the new trees from deer.
 
The Tree Advisory Board of the City of Shaker Heights received a $1000 Conservation Action Grant from the Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District with a $1000 match from the Doan Brook Watershed Partnership to fund the purchase and planting of 63 Buttonbush and Silky Dogwood in the City’s first no-mow pilot on the corner of South Park and Courtland Boulevards. The installation in the floodplain of the Doan Brook will occur this coming spring.
 
The City’s Tree Advisory Board member Nate Smith received a $1000 CSWD Grant to fund the planting of trees on City land at the juncture of Warrington and Fernway Roads. The increased tree canopy will provide shade for many community events and activities at this park in the Onaway area.
 
The City Forestry Department has applied for the Urban Canopy Restoration Grant Program to reforest Hildana Park, Southerly Park and Lower Lake Park. If awarded, the $20,000 award and $20,000 City match will fund the installation of approximately 90 trees in the three parks in 2022.
 
The Arbor Day/Boise Paper Company awarded a $30,000 grant to the City of Shaker Heights to fund the planting of approximately 63 trees on tree lawns in the Moreland area. One of the oldest neighborhoods in our City, Moreland has experienced a net loss of tree lawn trees due to maturity. This corporate donation will increase canopy, providing needed shade; it will beautify, improving the quality of life; and it will contribute to increasing property values. Half the installations will be in 2021 and the remainder will be in 2022.
 
Friends of Lower Lake, an all-volunteer group working under the aegis of the Doan Brook Watershed Partnership, continues to eradicate invasive plants on the shores of Lower Lake and replant the area with native trees and plants that support the entire ecosystem. Grants from the Shaker Lakes Garden Club and Dominion Energy through the Western Reserve Land Conservancy have funded the planting of more than 240 native trees and shrubs as well as 100 native wildflowers this year. Follow their progress at www.doanbrookpartnership.org.
 
The first increase in the City’s tree assessment rate in twenty years was passed by City Council in 2021. This assessment funds the forestry program’s planting, maintenance and removal of trees in the City’s right-of-ways. The new rate of $1.66 per front foot, assessed on the property tax bill, will enable the City to plant approximately 150 more trees annually, perform essential maintenance in accordance with industry best practices and increase our currently reduced forestry staff of three to five full time employees.

Charles Orlowski
City Forester

Go Green in the Fall!

A couple of alternatives to raking your leaves down to the tree lawn are…

1. Use your lawn mower to mulch them and “leave” them on the grass as an easy non-toxic plant food.
2. Rake them onto your garden. In the spring the leaves will have decomposed, enriching the soil.
3. Create a compost pile, by layering 1 part green material (grass, garden prunings, spent flowers, kitchen veg and fruit scraps, coffee grounds) with 2 parts brown material (dry leaves, dead plants, straw, pine needles, woody brush). In the spring, use the compost to enrich your garden.

 
Don’t forget to reduce your carbon footprint by considering eliminating carbon-producing fuel-powered lawn equipment with electric-powered ones. They are quieter, cheaper and cleaner.

Dominion Gas Line
Replacement Projects

Residents have questioned why City forestry crews have pruned tree lawn trees to a much higher clearance height on both sides of any street slated for gas line replacement. This is to prevent damage caused to tree limbs by heavy construction machinery.