BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo and Erie County received a $13 million grant to plant thousands of trees in Western New York.
This comes after many have noticed the city's slow deforestation in recent years. It's an ongoing issue. Buffalo cutting down twice as many trees as they are planting.
Dr. Henry Louise Taylor, Director of the Center for Urban Studies at the University at Buffalo, says it's more noticeable on the East Side.
"Creating a healthy tree coverage is not a heavy lift, but it's a strategically important lift, and the city has an opportunity to do it," Dr. Taylor said.
He continued, "The West Side is darker than the East Side, and that's because of the magnitude of tree cover. That has a significant impact on the health outcomes of the people who live in those neighborhoods."
But now, there's a chance to change that. More than $13 million in federal funding is secured to plant thousands of new trees across Western New York, and $8 million alone will go to Buffalo.
"The trees filter out toxicants and pollutants in the air. Thousands of automobiles that flow through that community on a daily basis spewing tons of pollutants into the air," Dr. Taylor said.
Mayor Byron Brown's proposed budget includes less money for the forestry department compared to the previous year. It looks to remove 1,000 trees while planting 300.
Andy Rabb, deputy commissioner of parks, says this is going to be a collaborative effort. They want input from communities to know what types of trees should be planted and where.
"We've been removing a lot of trees due to severe storms, the Emerald Ash Borer, and just the age of some of our populations of trees, and we haven't been getting as many requests," Rabb said.
Rabb says it costs one thousand dollars to just plant one tree and plans to plant thousands of them around the area.
"Our game plan includes community outreach, tree maintenance component, and tree planting," Rabb said.
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