Urban Forestry
ASLF advocates and implements urban forestry projects throughout Central New York and beyond. Thus far our program has consisted of several forestry planning, design, and implementation projects in Onondaga and Oswego Counties, mostly under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). Our focus is to plant native trees and shrubs on vacant, nonprofit, public, and private land with the purpose of rebuilding the urban tree canopy.
Why trees?
Urban trees provide many benefits to our society. Not only do they make our streets and parks look better, they also cool the air in urban areas, filter pollutants in the air, help manage stormwater, and remove carbon dioxides from the atmosphere while generating oxygen. We at ASLF are passionate advocates for urban trees. Our projects often focus on their ability to help improve our water quality.
Benefits of Urban Trees
Urban Tree and Stormwater
Project Sites
Over the years, ASLF has strategically planted more than 1500 native trees in the Central New York region. All planting sites were selected not only based on their proximity to waterbodies or sewersheds that discharge into them, but also through a process of public outreach local communities were invited to offer feedback and input . Below are interactive maps where you can examine the locations and species of trees we have planted.
684 Trees in Syracuse, NY
323 Trees in Fulton, NY
331 Trees in Oswego, NY
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
The majority of ASLF’s urban tree planting projects were made possible by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) administered by US Forest Service. We have worked on 5 separate GLRI grants with many project partners including local communities, nonprofit organizations, private land owners, and municipalities. All trees planted under the GLRI program are native species. Their locations were carefully selected to maximize their ability to manage stormwater runoff in the Lake Ontario Watershed.
Project Summary:
In 2018, we were awarded a 5th GLRI grant to work in collaboration with Oswego County Community Development, Tourism & Planning, Oswego Heath, the City of Fulton, and other partners to evaluate 13 former industrial and commercial sites for tree planting and green infrastructure installation. We proposed to plant a total of 300 native trees and shrubs on the chosen sites in Fulton and Oswego to help mitigate stormwater pollution caused by the runoff from these degraded sites. This project is currently 50% completed. We aim to finish it by May 2021.
Project Summary:
ASLF contracted with Oswego County, NY, who was awarded a USDA Forest Service GLRI grant in 2015, to plant trees on vacant land in the County. Tree planting was completed in 2017.
Project Summary:
ASLF was awarded a grant from the USDA Forest Service to plant trees on private non-profit property in Syracuse, NY. The project was completed by in 2015 with hundreds of trees planted on many sites, including various apartment complexes and Oakwood Cemetery.
Project Summary:
The Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection (WEP) was awarded this grant by the USDA Forest Service under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in 2010. The project called for the planting of trees on brownfield sites and other contaminated urban land. The goal is to manage stormwater runoff, mitigate non-point source pollution, and reduce the contaminants entering surface and ground water that result in water quality degradation in the Lake Ontario watershed. It is also part of the effort to restore the city’s tree canopy coverage, create wildlife habitat, improve biodiversity, and build local resilience to climate change. To aid the continuation of such efforts into the future, this project also includes the establishment of an urban tree nursery to provide fast growing, high quality seedlings that are native to the region. These trees will be sold at affordable prices and through various partnerships to municipalities and other community entities in the region.
ASLF contracted with WEP to implement the project. In collaboration with the City of Syracuse, the Greater Syracuse Land Bank, as well as two private land owners, ASLF planted over 480 native trees and shrubs, which has well exceeded the 400 goal. The plantings are on urban brownfields and vacant land at over 20 locations within the city boundary. This includes 17 different native species that provide food and shelter to wildlife and various ecosystem services to the community. The urban tree nursery was constructed and started to grow saplings in 2016.
Project Summary:
Onondaga County, New York, in collaboration with Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Inc. (ASLF) and City of Syracuse, filed the application for a grant under its Great Lakes Restoration Initiatives (GLRI) of USDA. This project was to focus on developing a plan to use urban forestry as a component in Onondaga County’s Gray/Green Infrastructure program to manage stormwater and reduce Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) volume in Syracuse, NY and to increase canopy coverage in Syracuse. The grant was awarded in December 2010. Onondaga County and ASLF then entered a contract, under which ASLF was defined as the contractor for Onondaga County to implement this project. By June 30, 2012, the project has been implemented as proposed with minor adjustments to the proposed process.
Mother Tree
Mother Tree is ASLF’s initiative to collect and propagate genetically local seeds of native species. The ultimate goal is to plant these seeds back into the Central New York region and restore its canopy to its original state. We are always on the lookout for healthy specimens of local tree and shrub species. If you have information on such specimens on any land you have access to, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We will also gladly receive any donation of seeds you might be able to make to us.