December 13, 2022 | From City of New Orleans
City of New Orleans Announces Start of Citywide Tree Planting Project
NEW ORLEANS — The City of New Orleans today announced that the Department of Parks & Parkways (Parkways) will plant 1,165 trees citywide starting Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022.
Parkways' goal is to diversify the City's tree canopy in every City Council district by planting a mix of 32 different native and adapted species.
“This is a great leap forward for the City of New Orleans. The Department of Parks & Parkways’ commitment to park upgrades, neutral ground improvements and further tree canopy establishment is being realized through this bond-funded initiative,” said Director of Parks and Parkways Michael Karam. “For the first time in several years, Parkways is undertaking a large scale planting of specimen quality trees that aid with stormwater management, urban heat island reduction, carbon sequestration and general quality of life improvements.”
Parkways designed the plantings and will oversee the installations. To develop the planting plans, Parkways analyzed data from the Citywide Tree Inventory and the department's field data of recent tree losses, such as from Hurricane Ida, the unseasonable hot dry weather during 2021-2022 and vehicular damages, to identify planting locations.
Twin Shores was awarded the contract after an open bid process. The trees will be planted through March 2023.
# # #