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Mahoning Valley TreeCorps is an initiative led by YNDC, Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, Youngstown CityScape, the Healthy Community Partnership, along with many community partners. TreeCorps will restore and sustain the urban tree canopy in the cities of Youngstown, Ohio, and Warren, Ohio, in order to improve health, and make the urban forest accessible to all.
The program will: 1) develop a basic tree inventory and management plan for both cities; 2) provide forestry training to 75 local professionals and 75 young adults, create at least 5 living wage jobs, and fully involve neighborhood residents; and 3) plant and sustain 5,500 two-inch caliper trees in parks and greenspaces, and help municipal crews clear a backlog of urgent canopy maintenance issues necessary to sustain the urban forest. The program will help rebuild the canopy in areas of both cities where shade has been lost through vacant property demolition and dead tree removal efforts. Additionally, it will help alleviate the buildup of urgent tree maintenance needed in both cities, strengthen local capacity to manage and maintain the urban tree canopy, and create economic opportunities through urban forestry.
Additional community partners involved in this effort include the Cities of Youngstown and Warren, the Trumbull and Mahoning County Land Banks, Plant Ahead Ohio, Community Corrections Association, Choffin Career and Technical Center, Treez Please, Mill Creek MetroParks, Trumbull County MetroParks, Trumbull Soil and Water Conservation District, along with many neighborhood groups and community organizations.
While planting shade trees helps to reduce the effects of climate change, trees also offer many documented benefits to people and neighborhoods. Well maintained shade trees provide needed shade that encourages both adults and children to engage in outdoor physical activity. Shade trees also help to reduce the urban heat island effect and buffer houses from summer heat, which improves health and reduces cooling costs and energy bills. Trees also help to clear pollution from the air, buffer traffic noise, and tree-lined streets slow down traffic, making streets safer for pedestrians. Tree lined streets have also been shown to improve mental health and reduce violent crime in neighborhoods, as well as improve property values for the surrounding neighbors.
More information about the program and how to get involved will be posted in the coming months. Questions about the program can be directed via email to Jack Daugherty, Neighborhood Stabilization Director, at jdaugherty@yndc.org.
This program is was made possible through a grant from the USDA Forest Service.
In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this organization is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible State or local Agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information is also available in languages other than English.
To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.