DETROIT – Thanks to a $30 million investment, 75,000 trees will be planted in Detroit over the next five years.
It’s all being done with a partnership between DTE, the city, American Forests and other organizations.
Those like Dan Felder remember a time when the city was a little greener.
“Detroit was full of trees. All these streets were tree lined. In the summertime, the trees used to meet on both sides and it would be like a tunnel going down the street,” Felder recalled.
Soon his grandchildren will be able to see all that beauty once again with the announcement that thousands of trees will be planted in Detroit.
“This is life and death infrastructure for our neighborhoods. Every neighborhood must have the benefits that trees can provide,” said American Forest President and CEO Jad Dalley.
Dalley says the campaign is to level the playing field for underserved communities that how fewer trees than most.
“Not having trees in your neighborhood is like not having sewers and stoplights,” Dalley insisted.
DTE CEO Jerry Norcia on the other hand is speaking on the impact that it’ll have on climate change.
“There’s also an environmental benefit because you’re capturing carbon and we know that climate change is a big deal and we know that trees play a large role in reducing carbon in the environment,” said Norcia.
People can also expect lower energy bills because the shade from trees keeps homes cool. The process has already started.
“We began planting a couple of weeks ago. So we have the first 200 trees in the ground. We’ll plant 2,500 by Christmas time,” said Director of Local Government Relations Eric Candela.
That’s resulting in hundreds of jobs. Urban Tree Farms is a local company that so far provided several trees to American Forest for the project.
“Everything we grow here is sold here and planted in the city of Detroit,” said Marcellus Wheeler with Urban Tree Farms.
“It feels good but I mean, we still got a long way to go. What they’re doing is just the beginning. Just the start,” Felder insisted.
Five thousand trees will be planted in the spring and another 7,500 next fall.