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USA - 2007
Planting a Greener Future
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A US$100,000 Alcoa Foundation grant is helping communities across Indiana (USA) have a greener future.
Awarded to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources' Community & Urban Forestry (CUF) program, which offers technical and financial assistance to cities and towns that want to restore their urban forest, the grant will be matched by local funds and will pay for the planting of 4,000 trees in 13 communities.
"We have very little funding to get trees planted on public property in our cities and towns, despite the fact that trees absorb carbon, collect particulate matter, provide energy savings, and beautify the surroundings," said Pamela Louks, CUF coordinator. "I was overwhelmed with the opportunity the Alcoa Foundation grant provided, and our municipalities were just as thrilled."
The CUF program was recommended for funding because of the potential to collaborate with local organizations and its focus on conservation, which aligned with an area of priority for Alcoa communities.
Indiana's trees are struggling due to natural and man-made pressures. An exotic beetle called the emerald ash borer is decimating the state's ash trees, and the lack of landscape ordinances in many communities is resulting in treeless urban sprawl.
Under the auspices of the CUF Program, municipalities and nonprofit organizations across the state were invited to apply for up to US$10,000 in funding for tree-planting projects on public property. Those receiving a grant were required to match the amount equally with cash or in-kind labor and donations.
Some of the tree-planting grants are being used to reforest urban areas where ash trees soon may no longer be standing, while others will fund efforts to fill in the sprawl areas to provide tree buffers to help absorb pollutants, noise, and carbon. In Indianapolis, the parks department will plant trees in three parks with the help of Rupert's Kids. This nonprofit organization, founded by Rupert Boneham from the U.S. reality television show Survivor, provides work programs and a stable environment for at-risk youth.
Keep Evansville Beautiful in Evansville, Indiana, received a US$10,000 grant that will be matched with an equal donation. The nonprofit will use the funds to plant and maintain 56 native trees for sound buffering and carbon sequestering along the exit and entrance ramps at the intersection of two major highways. The trees will be planted by faith-based youth groups and students representing Islam, Judaism, and Catholicism for educational and socialization purposes.
"Not only will we be beautifying this major gateway for two communities, we will also be providing a practical component in terms of educational and environmental benefits," said Ann Ennis, executive director of Keep Evansville Beautiful. "According to a local foundation, air quality and the loss of tree canopy are the major issues facing southwestern Indiana. This tree-planting project will offer years of return on the investment."
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