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Lakewood tree advisory board outlines expanded giveaways, focus on Ward 4, and budget ask
Summary
The Tree Advisory and Education Board told the Public Works & Sustainability Committee it will double the size of its tree giveaway program in 2025, pressed for budget support for outreach and watering, and urged targeted plantings in Ward 4 to address low canopy cover.
The Tree Advisory and Education Board on April 21 updated the city’s Public Works and Sustainability Committee on 2024 activity and its work program for 2025, including plans to double a citizen tree-giveaway program, push for more watering resources for newly planted trees, and focus outreach to underplanted areas in Ward 4.
The presentation, delivered by Linda Granstaff, chair of the Tree Advisory and Education Board, and board member Mary Kennedy, said the board launched a pilot “community canopy” giveaway in 2024. The program ran two giveaways (spring and fall) that distributed about 100 trees each and “sold out in hours,” the board said. For 2025 the board said it has secured increased funding to offer 200 trees in the spring and 200 in the fall, matching the city’s plan for planting on tree lawns and in parks and raising the board’s target to 400 giveaway trees plus 400 city plantings, for 800 new trees total in 2025.
The board described outreach and partnerships used in 2024, including events at Bernice Pike Park, volunteer help from the Lakewood Garden Club and neighborhood groups, planting demonstrations, and use of the National Arbor Day Foundation tools to help residents select and plant trees. The board said it will survey giveaway participants after planting this spring to track survival and gather feedback.
The board also presented a city map showing giveaway pickup locations and noted that Ward 4 was underrepresented among recipients in both giveaways; members said they plan targeted outreach in that ward to make tree distribution more equitable. The board recommended continued and increased funding for seasonal watering (they said watering with a truck takes about a week to cycle through newly planted trees during summer) and for seasonal forestry help to protect survival rates after a hot summer.
Board members said they are working with the Forestry Department to shift species selection toward more natives and to avoid invasive species, to increase deer protection for new plantings, and to promote construction-site protections to reduce root damage to mature park trees. They described additional education proposals: StoryWalks with the library at Madison and Kaufman parks, coordination with Garden Walk Lakewood, a possible community arboretum in Lakewood Park, outreach with Lakewood High School horticulture and environmental science students, and printed outreach materials for distribution at community events.
Council members and the mayor thanked the board for its work. Councilmember Brian Evans moved at the full council meeting to receive and file the board’s report; the motion passed. Several council members urged that outreach materials be printed for distribution (the board said materials are posted on the Forestry and Tree Advisory pages on the city website and are handed out at giveaways) and that the board’s recommended tree-education fund be considered in budget discussions. Councilmembers also pressed the board and staff about construction impacts on trees and whether forestry staff are engaged early enough in projects; the board said it provides sidewalk-replacement recommendations to Public Works and marks trees for preservation or removal, but acknowledged contractors do not always follow tree-protection guidance.
The board listed species the giveaway includes (smaller trees: pagoda dogwood, redbud, hornbeam, serviceberry; mid-size: Ohio buckeye, black gum/black tupelo; large: chinkapin oak, river birch) and said the giveaway stock is mainly 3–5 gallon containers (about 4–6 feet tall). The board noted that larger-caliper trees are available through the city’s contractor (Greenleaf) at the same pricing the city receives, for homeowners who want larger plantings.
The presentation closed with the board’s formal recommendations for 2025: expand the giveaway to 200 spring/fall; focus outreach on Ward 4 and other low-canopy areas using mapping resources; increase funding for seasonal watering and a tree-education fund to support printed materials and programming; continue species diversification toward natives; and pursue a community arboretum concept and school partnerships. Council members and staff said they will continue the conversation as the administration prepares the 2026 budget.
The committee and then full council received the board’s report and thanked the volunteers and partners involved.
