LYNN — The city is taking part in some shady business.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service has granted Lynn a $550,000 grant to fund urban-forestry projects in the city.
A majority of the grant is funding to hire a full-time urban-forestry fellow for three years.
“We have a tree warden and a fantastic (Department of Public Works),” Associate Planning Director Lauren Drago said. “(However), we definitely feel like we could use some more expertise around managing the trees we have now and helping ensure that new trees that get planted have the best chance at succeeding.”
According to the city’s grant application, the fellow will be paid an estimated salary of $90,000 before benefits.
The city is also exploring opportunities to use $72,000 for youth-employment programs that would work to develop a stronger urban canopy over the course of the same three-year period.
The ultimate goal of the work will be to foster engagement between the community and city departments to identify areas in need of improvement to their tree inventory, with 150 trees anticipated to be planted at the end of the three years.
Drago said the grant opportunity came to the city’s attention via members of the community who were interested in seeing Lynn develop a stronger urban canopy.
“There were actually community members that emailed this to me,” Drago said. “It’s so rare that people send a specific grant they want to see us go for… It’s so exciting.”
Hunter Richard was one of the community members who reached out to the city to encourage it to take advantage of the grant funding.
“I think it’s great,” Richard said. “Everybody’s interest is to make Lynn a better place and to have departments that are receptive to this is just really great.”
According to Drago, the city has plans in the works to get more resources to examine Lynn’s trees, including applying for more grants and creating a tree commission.
“We don’t currently have a tree inventory, which is something that a lot of communities that do have urban-forestry staff would have,” Drago said.
According to the Department of Agriculture Forest Service, an urban tree canopy is the leafy, green, overhead cover from trees that community groups, residents, and local governments maintain in the landscape for beauty, shade, energy conservation, stormwater mitigation, and a host of public-health and educational values.
Drago said that the city would keep equity in mind during the process, as many areas that lack strong canopies end up dealing with environmental impacts, especially during the hot summer season.
“Where you’re looking at denser areas with a lot more pavement, that’s where you want to be targeting more trees to prevent things like heat-island effect and to help cool down the temperatures and provide shade,” Drago said.
Mayor Jared Nicholson also stressed the positive environmental impact that a strong urban canopy would have on Lynn.
“We are thrilled to receive this grant to support the city in sustaining and growing our tree canopy,” Nicholson said. “Focusing on expanding our urban forestry will ensure the city is healthy and building on our climate and heat resilience.”
According to the city’s grant application, more than $55,000 will be used for supplies, including funds to plant the expected 150 trees.
