![]() With that in mind, he doesn’t see Lakewood’s sustainability plan from 2015 that hopes to achieve a 30% canopy coverage by 2025 to be realistic. “If we’re talking like a 1% canopy increase every 4-5 years, we’re not going to see an immediate forest from today to tomorrow.”Įven if all 200 trees on sale were planted today, “I wouldn’t expect them to even make an impact on our assessment for at least probably 15 or 20 years.” “That’s good, it’s a positive change, we’re going in the right direction, but it’s pretty slow,” Killoran said. “You could come pick this tree up in your Prius, you could put this in your little two-door honda civic and you could get it home,” Killoran said.īut, he stresses that this is a long-term process.įrom 2011 to 2019, the assessment saw a 2% increase in canopy coverage. These are smaller, teenage trees as well, selling for only $25. “We want it to be fair for everyone, equal opportunities for everyone to participate.” "They don’t have money to spend on trees,” he said. The program is targeting “neighborhoods that don't have a lot of finances to spend on landscaping, since landscaping is one of the lower priorities when it comes to lower-income neighborhoods. For a city of about 30,000 acres, the 8,000 acres he can plant throughout the city is not even a third of that. “We really need residents to participate in this program because there’s more opportunity for private property than public to grow trees,” Killoran explained. The total possible planting area is 41%, and this gap is where the tree sale comes in. Thanks to an assessment the city did of its trees last year, Killoran said 16% of the city is covered by canopy - “which is good,” he added, pointing out Colorado Springs is at about 17%, and Grand Junction at 11%. The plan is to plant as many diverse trees as the city can to mitigate the risk. With over 600,000 trees in Lakewood, 150,000 trees are at risk, the death of which would “be a pretty big void in our tree canopy,” he said. “It will destroy and it will kill every single Ash tree in our community,” Killoran warned. They were found in Arvada only last year. decades ago, the Emerald Ash Borer eats Ash trees which make up almost a quarter of all trees in Lakewood. The biggest pressure to increase the canopy though, according to Killoran, is the Emerald Ash Borer.Ī foreign bug introduced to the U.S. The increased cover will lower surface temperatures in heat, but also improve air quality, stormwater reduction and carbon sequestration. Lakewood needs more trees for its urban forest to survive.Īccording to Lakewood Forestry Supervisor Luke Killoran, who is in charge of almost 8,000 acres of Lakewood trees, the goal is to increase canopy cover of the young city. This isn’t purely for the looks of a nice front yard, however. Greenwald Caterers, Toys4U, Gourmet Glatt, The Custom Shoppe, TLS.Andrew Fraieli is not on the top of the list of importance in low-income families and neighborhoods barely paying the bills, but Lakewood is trying to change that by making trees more affordable. “I’m honored to work alongside Chief Meyer and entire Lakewood Police Department to make sure that each kid had the time of their life.”. “This is a matter that is near and dear to my heart, as well as those of the entire Lakewood Police Department,”īen Inzelbuch and others “To see the kids smiling and having a great time means everything to me this event will stay with me throughout the year,” Community Affairs Liaison Ben Inzelbuch said. There were approximately 50 children and their families who were at the event. The event displayed mini golf, a balloon show, a juggling show, prizes, gourmet food and nosh. On Monday December 19th 2022, Lakewood Police Foundation Hosts Spectacular Chanukah Party for Children Battling Illness.
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