City of Toledo Awarded $6.1 Million Grant to Enhance Urban Tree Canopy

TOLEDO, OH – The City of Toledo has been awarded $6,098,294 through the Urban and Community Forestry Program for the RE-TREE Toledo (Restoring and Enhancing Tree Canopy for Resilience, Equity, and Engagement in Toledo) project.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is awarding more than $1 billion in competitive grants to 385 projects nationwide. This funding will increase equitable access to trees and nature, and the benefits they provide for cooling city streets, improving air quality, and promoting food security, public health and safety.

Toledo faces a citywide challenge of low tree canopy, with an average of only 17% coverage, far below the recommended target of 35-40% for maximum benefits in our climate. Urban tree canopy contributes to cleaner air, reduced water runoff, safer road conditions, and plays a crucial role in mitigating urban heat islands, which are associated with negative health and environmental effects.

The primary goal of RE-TREE Toledo is to restore, expand, and protect urban trees and forests, with a particular focus on addressing the tree equity gap in Toledo's disadvantaged communities. Toledo’s 10 lowest-canopy census tracts are all in disadvantaged communities. All of the project's benefits will be directed towards these disadvantaged communities, ultimately benefiting over 83,000 residents across 36 census tracts.

The project will add 10,748 new trees over 5 years, including street trees, trees on publicly-owned vacant lots, and trees in parks. It will create a paid summer training program for 56 Toledo Public Schools students, with forestry employment opportunities upon completion. Community education, outreach, and engagement in urban forest stewardship will complement the program’s key objectives.

Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz stated, “This award is a testament to Toledo’s commitment to fostering a greener, more equitable future for our city. The planting of 10,000 new trees will make a substantial environmental impact, but it also shows Toledoans that we’re committed to making big investments where big investments are long overdue. The trees represent growth for our community and our promise to make Toledo better for generations to come.”

The project will be carried out in collaboration with several community partners, including Lucas County Land Bank, Metroparks Toledo, Keep Toledo Lucas County Beautiful, Woodlawn Foundation, and Toledo Public Schools.

The City of Toledo will host a kick-off event next week to engage with local, statewide, and national project stakeholders and community members, and to highlight additional details about the project.

“Today a legacy of disinvestment has left many areas of Toledo with high poverty rates and hardened landscapes. Our children are our future, and planting these trees will breathe new life into Toledo, and our communities for generations to come,” said Congresswoman Kaptur. “I was proud to fight for this federal funding, and I look forward to working with President Biden, Secretary Vilsack, and Mayor Kapszukiewicz to implement this program quickly. I will be the first in line to plant as many trees as possible in Toledo and across NW Ohio as I have done for decades. I am thrilled at the participation of Toledo Public Schools in the workforce development implementation of the grant, as it is imperative that the next generation recognize and understand the importance of trees and their nurture. Green spaces inspire and restore our spirit, and contribute to the health of our community. Here’s to a better, greener Toledo thanks to this federal investment in America that will help transform the landscape of our city.”

This announcement is part of President Biden's Investing in America agenda to advance environmental justice, generate economic opportunity, and build a clean energy economy nationwide. The grants are made possible by investments from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in history and a core pillar of Bidenomics. The Urban and Community Forestry Program is part of President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which works to ensure the overall benefits of certain federal investments reach disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution and underinvestment.

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