The City of Madison Urban Forestry began its annual spring tree planting Monday. They will plant approximately 1,400 trees of 33 different species throughout the month of April.
Madison forester Ian Brown said many of the trees will replace damaged or sick trees. Another large chunk will be planted in developing neighborhoods, according to Brown.
As city forester, Brown is a part of the Urban Forestry and is responsible for the community’s public trees and supporting privately owned canopy cover in Madison.
“You can think of urban forestry as trees and people in the same space,” Brown said. “Every tree that’s between the sidewalk or the curb, every tree that’s in a median, every tree that’s in a park, every tree that’s in your front yard or backyard, that is an urban tree.”
Urban forestry is unique compared to other forestry in that one tree is planted on its own and expected to survive, Brown said.
The 33 species selected to be planted were chosen for their history of urban survival, biodiversity and large canopies at maturity, Brown said. Species are screened for tolerance to heat, drought, salting and host-specific disease vulnerability.
“We talk about trying to move the needle of making our canopy and our community more livable, greener, more resilient to things that come with climate change and the impacts that come along with that,” Brown said.
Not only does this project aim to improve and maintain the environment, but it will also provide a myriad of health, wellness and neighborhood benefits for Madisonians, Brown said.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that trees provide shade, which can mitigate the urban heat island effect. With large canopy coverage, the environment can feel up to 3°F cooler.
“Without trees, you don’t have the same type of communal glue that draws people kind of out of their personal environments and into a communal space,” Brown said. “There are studies that show your mental anxiety and stress is decreased when you are in and around trees, or you recover faster in a hospital if you can see green space out your window.”
According to Brown, Madison and its constituents are well aware of the importance of trees already, and they go above and beyond when involving and considering urban forestry in the community and its potential impacts.
“If a project, maybe even a multimillion-dollar commercial development project downtown is talking about moving forward, a specific question would be, ‘Did you talk to city forestry yet?’ And if the answer is no, that whole project could be put on hold.” Brown said. “That’s not true in every place you go.”
Brown encourages students to look into the University of Wisconsin’s forest science major if they’re interested. For those who fall more into the “tree supporter” category than “tree hugger,” events like Arbor Day are great ways to get involved and spread awareness about tree support.