TreesLouisville Annual Report 2021-2022

Collaboration and partnerships: it’s how we get things done.

And that fact has never been more evident than during this year.

ExecutiveDirector

Staff

Cindi Sullivan, Executive Director

Consider our partnership with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC). Through this joint effort, we planted 363 new trees along our expressways. We know from our 2022 Urban Tree Canopy Assessment, commissioned from the University of Vermont’s Spatial Analysis Lab, that Louisville’s greatest canopy gains between 2012-2019 have been in city and state owned rights-of-way.

By joining forces with KYTC, Metropolitan Sewer District, Metro Council Districts 8 and 9, Louisville Metro Urban Forestry, community volunteers, and local businesses, we also planted 76 new trees along Bardstown Road and 45 new street trees in expanded tree wells along Frankfort Avenue in Clifton and Crescent Hill.

Our partnership with Jefferson County Public Schools began in 2015 and has resulted in the reforestation of 80 different JCPS campuses, with thousands of trees planted over the past seven and a half years. Our ultimate goal is to provide these canopy improvement projects at all 167 JCPS facilities.

Perhaps the most defining collaborative project of this year, a beautiful Parkland Plaza now stands where an empty parking lot once existed. Located at South 28th Street between Virginia Avenue and Dumesnil Street, Parkland Plaza is a community-driven design turned outdoor event space with new trees, turf, pollinator perennials, and public art that began with de-paving an asphalt surface lot. The project began as a collabo ration between the Center For Neighborhoods, Metro Council District 1, Louisville Metro and the Parkland Business Development Association and grew to include contractors who all contributed in-kind labor and materials and neighbors who provided additional suggestions (and lots of encouragement along the way!).

Our partnerships and collaborations continue with public policy makers and the development community to ensure that green infrastructure is an integral part of development projects in Louisville. These collaborations allow us to preserve existing canopy as we are planting new trees to enhance our invaluable tree canopy.

MISSION STATEMENT

TreesLouisville is a catalyst for conserving and increasing the community canopy to achieve and maintain at least 45% canopy cover through tree planting, public engagement and awareness, collaborative projects, and advocacy.

Morgan Grubbs, Volunteer & Programs Manager

Executive Board

Board Chair Charles Marsh, Gault-Marsh Development

Treasurer

Donna Heitzman, CPA CFA

Mike Hayman, Special Projects Manager

James Allen, Baird Dan Barbercheck, Red7e Lonnie Bellar, LG&E and KU Energy

Jackie Cobb, Schneider Electric Energy and Sustainability

Charles Denny, PNC Bank Kentucky Tennessee Dawne Gee, WAVE-3 TV

Henry V. Heuser, Jr., Unistar LLC

Bill Hollander, Louisville Metro District 9 Council Representative

Franklin Jelsma, Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs LLP

Boyce Martin, Eli Brown & Sons

J.K. McKnight, Art Of Impact

Mike Mountjoy, Mountjoy Chilton Medley LLP Katy Schneider, Retired

Allen F. Steinbock, Whipmix Corp.

Wesley Sydnor, Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District Dale Woods, WDRB Media

Cindi Sullivan

Charlotte Jones, Operations Manager

Sean Willis, GIS Intern

for

our organization.

Project Highlights

The Bardstown Road Corridor is a one-of-a-kind place in Louisville that features small businesses surrounded by historic neighbor hoods. Working with our partners, we aim to make the business corridor a more walkable place by planting trees that cool the side walks and street. Research has shown that improving tree canopy increases road safety and creates a more inviting, walkable environ ment for pedestrians, which translates into increased patronage of businesses like those along Bardstown Road. The Kentucky Trans portation Cabinet and Louisville Metro Public Works are redesigning the road to make it safer, calmer and more pedestrian friendly.

TreesLouisville is working to choose appropriate species of trees for both public and private properties along the corridor, and to date, we have planted nearly 200 landscape-size trees

The Parkland Plaza is located in west Louisville’s Parkland neighborhood, centered at South 28th Street and West Dumesnil Street. This project is based on community-visioning work that began in 2018 through engagement conducted by the Center For Neighborhoods, and over the last few years gained numerous community partners as we have worked to bring the design of the Plaza into reality.

Once an empty parking lot, Parkland Plaza is now a beautiful outdoor gathering space, equipped with new trees, benches, lighting, pollinator plants, a shipping container-turned-stage, and a beautiful mural painted by local artist Victor Sweatt.

Trees can live for hundreds of years and TreesLouisville aims for that lofty goal. We plant trees for at least 100 years in landscapes and 50 years in sidewalk cuts.

In 2018, we received a request from Jefferson Community and Technical College to find trees that can survive in their sidewalk cuts in downtown Louisville. The trees they initially planted had died, which is not unusual; the typical life of a tree in a sidewalk cut is a mere seven years.

When preparing for planting a street tree, the first factor we check for is the size of the sidewalk cut. The larger the cut, the more soil, moisture, and root space available for long-lived trees. The next step is to find the right tree for the right place. In the case of JCTC, there are acres of heat-absorbing asphalt, concrete, and brick around these tree sites, so the trees selected had to be tolerant of heat and drought.

Two of the most successful tree species in downtown Louisville have been Lacebark Elms and Zelkovas. In the last three decades, these two species are the only ones that grew well in the incredibly small 4’ x 5’ tree wells. For JCTC, we selected Small Frye Lacebark Elms, City Sprite Zelkovas, and a native but little known species of dwarf hackberry - smaller versions of those successful species that have the potential to thrive and fit in the tree wells for 50 years.

A few years later, all three durable species are thriving in a most inhospitable site. By getting the right trees in the right sites, we ensure longevity, efficiency, durability, and beauty.

BARDSTOWN ROAD PARKLAND PLAZA

“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all, our most pleasing responsibility.”

PLANTING FOR THE FUTURE IN TOUGH URBAN SITES

Wendell Berry

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Partnerships are an integral part of our work. Whether you’re with a school looking to increase its canopy, a business seeking to sponsor a greening project as part of your sustainability goals, or an individual with a suggestion for a new project site, we’d love to hear from you!

Call us at (502) 208-8746 or email us at info@treeslouisville.org.

Trees for Schools

REPUBLIC BANK

Trees are air cleaners, greenhouse gas eaters, crime fighters, and they are also team builders. That’s what Michael Trager-Kusman had in mind when he asked TreesLouisville to help him plan a tree planting project at the Republic Bank branch on Simcoe Lane. The project came from a list of sustainability goals that included reducing the heat of parking lots. On a brisk but sunny winter morning, dozens of Republic Bank volunteers came out to help install 34 new balled-and-burlapped trees around the property, and to top it off, the event concluded with a pizza party!

KENTUCKY TRANSPORTATION CABINET

In partnership with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, we planted 363 new trees at over 8 different highly visible sites around Jefferson County. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s mission is to move traffic in the most efficient, safest, and most environmentally-friendly way possible. That is part of the reason that our partnership with KYTC has been so successful. Working together to plant trees along highways and on/off ramps, TreesLouisville and KYTC are creating biofilters to improve air quality and ensuring safer roads for drivers and pedestrians.

JCPS schools and facilities since 2015

LOUISVILLE METRO URBAN FORESTRY

The benefit of having multiple tree-planting entities in town is that by combining resources, we are able to cover more ground and create an even bigger impact. Louisville Metro Urban Forestry oversees trees in public spaces - parks, parkways, and public rights-of-way.

Joining forces, TreesLouisville’s staff and volunteers helped Metro Urban Forestry to plant nearly 407 large container and balled-and-burlapped trees along city streets. Urban Forestry kindly supplied trees for our projects along Virginia Avenue, Greenwood Avenue, and Dumesnil Street in the Parkland neighborhood and on Frankfort Avenue, among other sites. Most notably, we planted 134 trees along the streets surrounding the new Lynn Family Stadium in Butchertown.

TEACHER TESTIMONY Tree Fest

To date, we’ve planted half of all JCPSowned properties! This partnership improves the learning and working environment for students and teachers, creating more pleasant places to study and work. Studies from all over the world consistently show that exposure to nature improves student performance, behavior, and test scores. We also provide curriculum lessons for teachers to share with their students.

TreeFest was introduced to Louisville for the first time ever as a way to celebrate Arbor Day and provide community members with an opportunity to learn more about and appreciate our community forest. On one Saturday in April we were able to engage over 60 volunteers in planting 100 trees at Joe Creason Park while also offering family friendly activities, eco friendly vendor booths, a tree giveaway, and the opportunity to learn from over 18 different “green” organizations in our city. Live music, food and drinks were also available, making for an ideal afternoon to sit in a park and take in the scenery. The event would not have been possible without our sponsors, the Parks Alliance of Louisville and Schneider Electric, and our partners, Louisville Metro Urban Forestry and Louisville Grows. We look forward to making TreeFest an annual tradition!

Thank you to all of this season’s partners:

Beltline Electric

Bob Ray Co.

Center for Neighborhoods City Tilth and Trees

Charles Guelda and Sons

Plumbing

Denzil’s Lawn and Landscape

EvolveKy

Flynn Brothers

Friends of Bardstown Road Habitat For Humanity Jefferson County Public Schools

JoAsh Construction

Kempf Lawn and Landscape

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet

Louisville Metro Louisville Water Company

Louisville Zoo

Metro Council

Metropolitan Sewer District

Nugent Sand

Parkland Business Development Association

Realm Construction

Sylvan City Tree Company WDRB Media

West Sixth for a Cause Foundation

“We were so lucky to be able to partner with TreesLouisville this past school year. Not only will the trees planted benefit our campus for years to come, but the students absolutely loved having an outdoor, hands-on lesson about trees and taking part in the planting. We [the teachers] also enjoyed the lessons provided by TreesLouisville because they followed our teaching standards, and the staff were willing to adjust their activities to fit within our unit!”

Megan Culp, ESL Teacher, Minors Lane Elementary

year, we planted 463 trees at 8 schools!

Volunteering By The Numbers

Between July 2021 and June 2022, we engaged over 200 volunteers at 49 different events, including 12 tree planting projects and 10 mulching projects. Over the course of 13 pruning events, our volunteers pruned 350 trees! Our Canopy Corps volunteer program continued to grow as well: 27 members joined us at events, donating 260 hours of their time, and 25 people participated in our Canopy Corps training to learn best management practices for tree planting and maintenance.

CANOPY CORPS VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

Corporate volunteer groups TreesLouisville had incredible support from a number of corporate volunteers throughout this past season. Volunteers from Republic Bank helped to plant over 30 balled-and-burlapped trees around their branch on Simcoe Lane. Multiple teams from UPS planted dozens of street and yard trees throughout the Parkland neighborhood, including along Virginia Avenue, Dumesnil Street, and Greenwood Avenue. Employees of Elite Homes and the Louisville Vegan Jerky Company beautified past plantings during mulching events, and finally, both Slugger Field and Lynn Family Soccer Stadium are now surrounded by nearly 200 new trees, planted with the help of volunteers from Bulleit Bourbon, Beam-Suntory, Collins Aerospace, UPS, Humana, and Hogans Lovell.

Maria Sherman

Since November, Maria has volunteered with us at 14 projects, giving TreesLouisville over 30 hours of her time. We are grateful for her dedication to Louisville’s tree canopy!

2022 Louisville Urban Tree Canopy Assessment: A Look at the Data

In 2015, a study was released with alarming findings about the state of Louisville’s tree canopy: between 2004 and 2012, Louisville lost the equivalent of 54,000 trees each year. Our existing canopy coverage was much lower than many of our peer cities, and the study predicted that if no steps were taken to remedy the rate of tree loss, Louisville’s canopy could drop to as low as 21% - half of the recommended amount - in just a few decades. Many things changed as a result of that tree canopy study: Louisville Metro created its Division of Community Forestry and appointed an Urban Forester to oversee public trees, TreesLouisville was founded, and organizations across the city have devoted their time and energies over the last eight years to planting and caring for many new trees in areas that need them the most.

In 2019, TreesLouisville began working with the University of Vermont’s Spatial Analysis Lab to examine how Louisville’s tree canopy has changed since the previous study and to see whether the results of Louisville’s subsequent tree canopy efforts could be measured.

So, what changed? Louisville gained 1% canopy between 2012 and 2019! Though that number may seem insignificant, it’s a huge step in the right direction. Contrary to the dire predictions of canopy loss in the 2015 study, we have not only slowed the rate of loss, but reversed it.

Street tree canopy increased by 2%

Trees planted over a decade ago contributed significantly to canopy gains

Canopy loss was concentrated in more heavily urbanized areas and on private land

Tree canopy will continue to rise if removals do not outpace natural growth and new plantings

What the Study Recommends

Although canopy coverage is holding steady, there are still considerable losses throughout Louisville

Preserve existing canopy as the most effective means to secure future tree canopy. Ensure a broad age distribution and a variety of species of trees

Continue crucial community education Plant new trees in areas where tree canopy is low or in locations where there has been canopy loss

Interested in becoming a volunteer? Visit treeslouisville.org/volunteer to learn more!

“I volunteer with TreesLouisville because I know the air we breathe, its quality and temperature, are important to mental and physical well being. When my daughter and I delivered food to refugees with Kentucky Refugee Ministries, I saw how different some neighborhoods were in regard to green spaces, and specifically the tree canopy, compared to others. They were physically hotter with very little shade. I wanted to make a lasting difference in my community and knew planting trees with TreesLouisville would do just that!”

Looking Ahead

grants

Bardstown Road

Tree Week

and

donations

CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION

DONORS

Arbor Day Foundation Augusta Brown Holland Philanthropic Foundation

Beargrass Christian Church

BMS LLC

Bob Ray Company

Capricorn Foundation Charitable Trust

CBRE

Churchill Downs, Inc. Deer Park Neighborhood Association

Elite Homes

The Gheens Foundation

Greater Louisville Sierra Club

Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels Humana

JR Promotions Kentucky Country Day School

Kroger Community Rewards

LG&E and KU Foundation LL Flex

Louisville Audubon Society

Louisville Parks Foundation

Louisville Vegan Jerky Co. Louisville Water Company

Makbe LLC

Metropolitan Sewer District

Nugent Sand Company

City of Audubon Park

Partnership for a Green City

Rotary Club of Louisville

Schneider Electric North America Foundation

Society of Municipal Arborists Steel Technologies Foundation

The Dunbar Foundation

The Rental Depot

The Rudd Foundation

Tyler Park Neighborhood Association

Ursuline Sisters of Louisville

Virtual Peaker WL Lyons Brown Foundation Walmart

WDRB Media

West Sixth For A Cause Foundation William E Barth Foundation

Yum! Brands

Zeon Chemicals

Danette Baker

Jennifer Baker

Ellen Baldwin

Mona Ball

Elizabeth Barr

John Barron Matt Bewley

Catharine Burch Molly Boland

Terri and Jonathan Boome

Kevin Borders

Tassie Bosher

Brad and Carla Sue Broecker

Conan Brooks

Jessica Brown

Thomas Brown Ray Brundige

Walter Bruning

Toph Bryant

Martha and Gary Burak

Christina Burky

Bruce Burton

Allen Bush and Rose Cooper

Susan Callander

Richard Campbell William Case

Sara Ceresa

Adam Chase

Jeff and Marjorie Conner

John Crabtree

Danielle Cuculic

Kate Cunningham Gordon and Lori Dabney

April DannellySchenck

Colleen Davis

Elizabeth Davis

Jessie Davis

Laura and Kenneth Davis

Devin Deaton

Gretchen DeJarnett

Sean Delahanty

Aleve Douglas

Melissa Draut

Laura Dunbar

Winston Dunwell

Laura Ecken

Craig Eibel

Tracy Evans Mike Feusner

LaVonne Fingerson

Trisha Finnegan

Matt Fontaine

Cathy Ford and Everett Hoffman Will Ford

James Price Foster

Daniel Francis

Chelsea Grant

Martha Graziano

Will Greene

Mary Greenebaum

Pamela Greenwell

Laurie Gregory Debbie Grubbs

Edith Gruneisen

Sandal Gulick

Caroline Guthrie Sharon Hackett

Lee Hancock

Lynn Haner

Kurt Hanscom

Patricia and Christopher Haragan

Erin Hathaway

Helen Heddens

Tracy Heightchew

Greg Heitzman

William Hellman

Craig Henderson Chris and Marcia Hermann

Craig Heuser

Henry V. Heuser, Jr.

Jerome Hile

Bill Hollander and Lisa Keener

Valorie Horn

Freddie Hoskins

Anna Huang Shrader

Kelly Johnson

Rebecca Johnson Evan Judge Lynn Kaiser

Drake Kammerdiener

Lilly Karem Tracy Karem

Mark Kaufmann

Michael King Maria Koetter Phillip Kollin and Brook Heiser

Dennis Kroese

Edward Kruger

Michael and Kathy Kull

Walter and Lynn Kunau

Laura Landenwich Robert Laufer

Linda Leeser

Greg Leichty Patrick Lewis Patrick Lippy

Angelique Long

Joy Long

Kelli Lorenzen Hunter and Blair Louis

Ronna Jo Lynch

Seyval Mack

David Mahoney

Bunny McDermott

Patricia McDowell Annie and Paul McLaughlin

Walter McWhorter Mary E. Meagher Michael and Catherine Meier Susan Mercke

William Meyer Sheilah Miles

Kathy Mills

David Minds

Joy Monsma Rob Monsma

Austin Moore

Kathy Morris Jill Morzillo Mike Mountjoy Charles Moyer Amy Mudd Joseph Mudd

Amber Mullaney Barbara Mullen Lee Munnich Anne Nash

Mindy and Michael Needleman

Michael Oakley Susan ODaniel

Brian Olberz

Lori Prewitt

Gary Pyles

Tami Pyles

Priscilla Rao

Marc and Karen Reich

Lee Richardson

Sandra Richardson Louisa Riehm

James Ringlein

Mary Rising Maegen and Christopher Rochner

Jim Rosendaul

Denise Ross

John Roth

John Rott

Matthew Ruben

Jennifer Rubenstein

Germaine Russo

Louise Sachs

Philip Samuel Brandon and Courtney Schadt

Kathryn Schlafer

Katy and Paul Schneider

Lisa Schoenbachler Kathy Schroerlucke Ellen and Max Shapira Maria Sherman Sallie Showalter

Molly Stanley

Heidi Starke

Allen and Sherry Steinbock

Glen Steltenpohl

Jena and Matthew Stone

Karen Strauss and Mike Hymson

Diane Street

Lindy Street

Anita Streeter

Warren Streeter

Roxanne and Elwood Sturtevant

Alex Suckow

Caroline Sullivan

Edmund Sullivan

Susan Sweeney Crum

Nanette Tafel

Vincent Tanamachi

Robert Taylor

Gary Thomas

Paul Tigue

Priscilla and Robert Tillett

Brenda Travis

John and Kathi Vance Ellen Venhoff

Laurie Vieth and George Vieth, Jr.

Emily Vitale

Emery West

John Whatley

Donald Whitfield

Caroline Willette

Bronwyn Williams

Patricia Williamson Mary and Orme Wilson III

Ward Wilson

Debra Wohner

Kayla Wohner

Jonathan Wolff

Susannah Woodcock Alice and Jim Wootton

Chris Worley

Marti Wornall

Mark and Patty Wourms

Jonathan Yann

Deborah Zickefoose Mimi Zinniel Alice and Jim Wootton

Chris Worley

Marti Wornall

Mark and Patty Wourms

Jonathan Yann Deborah Zickefoose Mimi Zinniel

INDIVIDUAL DONORS

Teddy Abrams

Jerry and Madeline Abramson

Sharon Adcock

James and Missy Allen

Ed Allgeier

M.A. Allgeier

Jim Andrew

Anne Arensberg

Joe Arterberry, M.D.

Allan Atherton

Katherine Austin

Mike Chmilewski

Anna Christianson

John Clark

Kelly Clark

Emily Clayton

Jim and Karen Clayton

Julie Clinkingbeard

Jackie and Wes Cobb

Larry Cobb

Abigail Coffenberry

Ann Coffey and Valle Jones

John and Jayne Combs

Sandra Frazier

Harry Freibert

Mary Freibert

David Gardella

Daniel Garst Christopher and Cynthia Gault

Stephen C. Gault

Jeff Gaunce

Jamie Gibson

Jodie Goldberg

Cynthia Goslee

Sheila Graham

Patrice and Thomas Huckaby

Madge Huecker

Ryan Hughes

George Hunt

Harrell Hurst

Susan Irving

Mike Isaac Mary Jackson

Irvin Jaffe

Joy Jamison

Michael Janok

Franklin and Jill Jelsma

Connie Marrett Jenny and Charlie Marsh

Boyce Martin III Dana Martin

Lauri Martin

Lyda Martin

Dominick Martinez

Cynthia Matherly Linda Mattingly Mary Mattingly Bryan Maynard Charles and Tori McClure

Meleesa Oldham Lauren Oliver Ellen and Andy Oost Monica Orr

Julie Oster Margaret Pearce

Stephen Peterson

Kenneth Petit

Sean Petit

Kirsten Pfalzgraf

Joe and Terri Phelps

Katie Pickford

Justin and Emily Pohn Dorothy Poppe

Trisha Siegelstein

Sara Silva

David Simcox

Jill Simon Joshua Singer

Mark Singleton

Mark Smith

Vertner Smith and Barbara West Stephanie and Jonathan Smith

Julie Sotsky

Lee Squires

Suzanne Stamatov and George Guthrie

Carrie Vittitoe

John Volz

Casey Wagner

Nina Walfoort

Curt Walker

Jim and Joyce Walters

Marjorie Warden

Zachary Wasserman

Beverly Weinberg

Ronald and Elaine Weisberg

Niles Welch

Michelle Wells

Sheila Welsh

NONPROFIT