GUFC LAUNCHES NEW "TREE LEGACY" GRANT PROGRAM - 2007-08 Grant Award Recipients Announced
GUFC is pleased to announce its new “Tree Legacy” Grant Program with funding from the Home Depot Foundation. The purpose of the new Tree Legacy Grant Program is to provide funding to Georgia communities for urban forestry projects involving tree planting to achieve environmental goals. In order to maximize the impact of the grant dollars and create model projects across the state, GUFC is targeting a different region of the state each year. The 2007-2008 Tree Legacy Grant Program will provide grant assistance to communities in Southwest Georgia.
Applications for the 2007-2008 Tree Legacy Grants were accepted through December 1, 2007. The following Tree Legacy Grant Award Recipients were announced on December 31st:
The City of Americus for its "Americus Regreening Project." The Americus Regreening project involves planting new trees to replace the ones lost as a result of the EF3 tornado which struck Americus and Summter County on March 1, 2007. These trees will be planted in the three most damaged areas of the city - Joyce Myers Park, Rees Park, and historic Oak Grove Cemetery.
Trees Columbus for its project, "Planting Trees and Conserving Water in Columbus: A Commercial Redevelopment Example." Trees Columbus will work in partnership with a local developer to plant a minimum of 40 canopy trees in the parking lot of an older, in-town commercial site and establish a pilot stormwater and air-conditioning condensate collection and pumping system for use in irrigating the trees.
The City of Pelham for its "City of Pelham Tree Education Project." Their project will replace trees which have been lost as a result of age, forest composition and storm damage in recent years along historic streets. This project will also plant new trees around a recently established skate park. Both plantings will reduce stormwater runoff and impervious surface and mitigate air pollution from nearby roads.
The City of Tifton for its "Building and Securing the Tree Legacy of Tifton, Georgia" project. This project will help the City of Tifton preserve and improve its urban forest while also educating citizens about the value of trees in the city and involving them in the city tree care. Several "traffic corridors" have been emphasized for their "tremendous amount of impervious surface" and "lack of shade trees." The city has identified these areas as a high priority in the installation of new shade trees to provide shade and reduce rainwater runoff as indicated by the Tift/Tift County Comprehensive Environmental Management Plan.
Source: GUFC
01/08/2008 12:00 am