NEWPORT, Ky. — The City of Newport received a $1 million federal grant, which officials say will be used to plant up to 1,000 trees on the city’s west side.
It is the largest green investment in Newport’s history and is taking place in an urban neighborhood within a mile of the Reds' and Bengals' stadiums and downtown Cincinnati.
“What this is going to allow us to do is go through the neighborhoods, especially in sections where there’s wide pieces of sidewalk and concrete, in the public right of way,” ReNewport executive director Josh Tunning told WCPO.
The city is teaming up with ReNewport to remove concrete to create planting spaces for the new trees.
“It’s going to allow us to replace it with actual earth and dirt and then go in and put in trees,” Tunning said.
The urban forestry grant was awarded through the Federal Inflation Reduction Act. The law was passed by Congress in 2022 to combat climate change by providing access to trees and other types of green space in urban communities.
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.
City crews on Thursday were mapping out parts of Newport on Columbia Street near the Intermediate School for tree planting.
The city is targeting school areas, west side blocks and areas near parks in a part of town that officials say has less than 5% tree coverage.
"We want to make sure those trees are in the neighborhoods where people are living to make sure they are reaping the benefits of having close by,” Newport arborist Cassandra Homan said. “So, less flooding, lower energy bills."
Homan calls it “tree equity.”
“The reason we felt this was so important for west Newport specifically is because they have so few trees right now and so much pavement, they’re suffering a lot from ‘urban heat island effect’,” Homan said. “So, in the summer it's really hot and folks’ energy bills go up and it makes it impossible to spend time outside. And then you also have the secondary consequences of just not having the trees there; like having more air pollution because the trees aren’t filtering.”
Beyond the aesthetic upgrade, Homan said research shows spaces with more trees correlate to things like longer lives, reduced rates of diabetes and cardiac disease, less flooding and cleaner air.
Officials say the first tree planting using the funds will take place Oct. 19.
