NEWPORT, Ky. — Newport is no longer receiving a $1 million federal grant for tree planting in the city's West End.
In August 2024, Newport announced it received a grant from the Inflation Reduction Act through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. The city was one of four in Kentucky to receive funding for these projects.
"In sections where there's wide pieces of sidewalk and concrete in the public right of way, it's going to allow us to replace it with actual earth and dirt," Josh Tunning, executive director of ReNewport said at the time of the Newport West Side Reforestation Project.
The $1 million grant designated for planting 1,000 trees was going to be an upgrade for a part of the city that many felt was in desperate need of revitalization. Now, that money is being revoked.
Learn more about what the federal grant would've done for Newport in the video below:
"It's beyond disappointing," Newport arborist Cassandra Homan told WCPO Monday. "It's kind of heartbreaking. It makes me feel sick to know that we've done so much work. And these people deserve this, I think."
While the trees would beautify the area, experts also said they believed they would bring health benefits.
According to Urban Canopy Works, LLC, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, pockets of trees — due to the shade they provide can lower temperatures and consequently reduce energy bills — provide cleaner air and reduce flooding as trees absorb and slow down rainwater runoff.
"Those tree benefits, that canopy provides so much for the community," Homan said. "We're talking about lower rates of cardiovascular disease, lower rates of diabetes, asthma, less need for medications for things like anxiety and depression."
Advocates say the plan to plant at least 100 trees this spring will continue, but the planting in the fall and beyond is still in question.
WCPO is told private fundraisers and other initiatives to continue the work at a slower pace are forthcoming. City leaders have also indicated they would like to see a scaled-down version of the project the city can fund or operate without federal help.
"Our goal is to plant fifty trees this spring. Which is half of what we could've done if we had the grant funding," said Homan. "We're still going forward."
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