Oct. 15 Tree Commission meeting
Covered by Documenter Simone Walton (see her notes here)
The City of Akron Tree Commission plans to expand from five to nine members to increase its ability to serve city residents and meet its mission of educating the public about the importance of trees and the tree canopy.
City Council’s Public Service committee advanced an ordinance to increase the number of seats on the Tree Commission on Oct. 21. The full council is expected to pass the ordinance on Monday.
“We have had quite a bit of interest in terms of individuals wishing to join the commission,” said Jeff Fusco, at-large council member and commission member.
Fusco continued, “We have done some positive things… in terms of supporting the city. There are some things that we haven’t done,” he said, referring to things like a brochure, the website and the Tree of the Month. “We don’t have the firepower, and it’s not fair to ask the city to go out and do all this work as well.”
Partnerships and public involvement
The change adds a designated seat for a representative from Keep Akron Beautiful. KAB is a nonprofit group that works closely with the city on beautification and environmental management projects. KAB launched Planting for Change in April with the goal of planting 100,000 trees in the city over the next decade.
The other three new seats are for members of the public. The reconstituted commission will have the following representatives:
- Member of City Council
- Clerk of Council or deputy clerk
- Director of Public Service or designee
- KAB representative
- Five members of the public
New individuals serving on the committee will be appointed by Mayor Shammas Malik and approved by council. Commission members representing the public are paid $25 per meeting.
The Tree Commission’s mission, according to its website, is to work with the city “to provide a safe, healthy and sustainable urban canopy by creating educational opportunities for the public to learn about the importance of trees.”
Celebrating city trees
In recent months, the commission has discussed a citywide Tree of the Month program to showcase interesting trees across Akron’s wards.
At several recent meetings, commissioners discussed developing the program, including how to tell the public about it, how trees will be nominated and selected, and how winning trees will be honored.
KAB already has a weekly tree education social media program. One of the commission’s projects will be to coordinate with this initiative instead of building a new program. KAB also partners with Barberton Tree Service on “What’s in Your Ward: Tree Thursday Edition.” These posts highlight a tree and provide educational information about the species.
Initiatives to expand the tree canopy
The city’s 2020 State of the Canopy Report focused public attention on this topic. This report revealed that the city’s tree canopy had decreased by almost 2% to 34.85% from 2011-2018. The Tree Commission’s goal is to understand and to help educate the public about efforts that have arisen in response to this report.
In October 2023, the federal government awarded the City of Akron $1 million through the USDA U.S. Forest Service for Project ACORN, which stands for Akron Community-Owned Reforestation Network. Today, urban forestry workforce training is ongoing on Theiss Road, leading to plantings in five Akron neighborhoods with the highest tree canopy loss: East Akron, Middlebury, Sherbondy Hill, and Summit Lake.
The Summit of Sustainability Alliance, a Summit County group, focuses on creating a healthy natural environment for communities. Their current work targets tree canopies. The group includes representatives from Summit MetroParks, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Akron Recreation and Parks, Ohio and Erie Canalway Coalition, and KAB.
City officials are currently working in partnership with KAB on The Opportunity Project for Cities 2024 design sprint project to create a tool to help residents support the tree canopy.
A broad team will have a working model ready for testing by mid-November, according to KAB’s Jacqui Ricchiuti. The team includes IT professionals from the city, funders, Google.org, and the Beeck Center at Georgetown University
What’s up next?
With its expanded roster, Tree Commission members to provide public education. They also want to collaborate with these agencies, organizations and others involved with improving Akron’s tree canopy and providing public education that leads to stronger support.
Fusco also suggested at the September meeting that the commission have a retreat after the new members join.
“Go over our ordinance, relook at ourselves with these new faces and fresh ideas,” he said. “The partnership with KAB is a good idea, the timing is right for that.”
For anybody interested in the Tree Commission, its next public meeting is Nov. 19 at 1:30 p.m. and is held virtually here.
Sarah Vradenburg is the chair of the Tree Commission. Reach her here: sv0614@gmail.com.
Go here for more information on the commission.