Areas with fewer trees can be up to 20 degrees warmer than areas with more trees and green spaces.

Trees help reduce flash floods and runoff during storms. and convert carbon dioxide into oxygen.

However, small trees planted by cities along roads are more likely to be seen in some areas of Raleigh than others.

A city study found that Raleigh’s street trees were not planted fairly and evenly. Now the city has committed to planting 1,000 trees in the area just southeast of downtown in three years.

Chris Crumb, City of Raleigh Development Forestry Officer, said: “It also shows that we care about people within our community.”

“We have to protect them”

oaks. Elm. maple. Eastern Redbud.

The city has just planted about 300 trees, mostly in front of schools, churches, apartment buildings and city-owned properties. The street in Walnut Terrace, an affordable housing development off Fayetteville Street, was included in the first round, as was the street in front of the Walnut Creek Wetland Center.

Trees were planted near Chavis Park, Raleigh City Cemetery, and Rush Metropolitan AME Zion Church.

Raleigh officials want to make sure homeowners know the trees are coming before they see people digging outside, Crumb said.

“Community engagement is a top priority for this project,” said Crum. “We didn’t just put trees in the streets. We excluded areas with single-family homes so we could have a little more time to engage with those residents.”

That community engagement is one of the most important parts of the plan, says environmental scientist and board member Amin Davis. partners in environmental justice.

“The most important part of this from a community and residents perspective is that all residents where these trees are planted are informed in advance of what is going on,” he said. And they are informed about the benefits and maintenance and issues associated with these trees.”

The city reached out to its partners in environmental justice to ask for their input on the plan.

“This is definitely in line with what we are advocating and trying to promote,” said Davis. “And the more trees we have, especially in cities, the more we can improve local air quality. because it helps offset the

Raleigh Mayor Pro Tem Corey Branch, which represents southeastern Raleigh, said he was happy to see the city moving in this direction.

“Trees are like cities,” he said. “If we don’t grow, we’re dead. We have to protect them.”

But he also said he’s been getting calls from people to get rid of old city trees in the streets.

Requests for tree services can be submitted online. raleighnc.gov/parks/urban-forestry-programor phone 919-996-4115 Report that trees in your city are dead or causing problems.

For program details, map of the proposed tree location, go to raleighnc.gov/street-tree-equity-project.