Now is the time to request that the City Council fund a tree re-planting program!
Not only do the City Council folks have their bond money to spend (so you can always ask them to spend some of it on the urban forest in your neighborhood) but the beginning deliberations for the next fiscal year`s budget are starting up.
Many cities have, in their forestry budget, funds for replanting trees when they take down old, dangerous and dead trees on city streets. For every tree they remove, they plant one or even two! But not Providence.
Providence used to be called The Forest City because we had so many street trees. Those days are long gone. There are neighborhoods in Providence that have only the barest of tree canopy cover. The PNPP can plant up to 450 or so new street trees a year with the help of resident planters, but that isn`t nearly enough, considering how many trees are being taken down every year.
Send a letter (or email) to the Mayor's office and to your City Council person asking for funds for a tree replanting 
program. Our elected officials aren`t mind readers, and they need to hear from you on subjects that are important to you and your neighbors. Remind them that street trees add to the quality of life in the city, increase property values, clean the air and the water, act as natural traffic calming and some studies suggest that streets with trees actually have less crime and domestic violence than streets without trees. Money does, in fact, grow on trees once you factor in all the benefits! What`s not to love?
In addition, keep track of development that might be going on in your neighborhood. Any time a parking lot is put in, or a store or office building is built, there should be plenty of trees! The City needs to know that you care about these things, and ensure that developers follow landscaping guidelines and ordinances.
For more information on how you can successfully lobby for trees, please feel free to contact the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program.
