The funding will also provide extensive training to city staff and volunteers about appropriate tree selection and proper maintenance thereby ensuring healthy trees in the City of White Plains. These trees will help to combat extreme heat and climate change and expand access to nature for all of our residents. The funds are provided by the US Department of Agriculture through the Justice 40 Initiative and made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act – the largest climate investment in history.
The City of White Plains sets forth an ambitious plan designed to allow professionals and paraprofessionals to plan, design and manage the City’s tree canopy in order to improve human health and wellness and ensure the City’s long-term planning, assessment and management of trees. City staff will attend national urban forestry conferences to learn about proactive and systemic maintenance and monitoring of urban trees; assessing risks from pests, disease and adverse climate impacts; and formulating adaptive maintenance plans to improve tree resilience. Additionally, the City will partner with Cornell Cooperative Extension, El Centro Hispano, White Plains Youth Bureau and Lifting Up Westchester to develop a robust program that will seek to recruit and train volunteers to serve as “tree watchers”. The “tree watchers” will learn how to identify the signs of tree stress or pest problems, proper watering techniques, keeping a tree journal for the trees they are monitoring and how to report an issue to the City.
Look for updates on this project on the City of White Plains website and in the City of White Plains monthly newsletter.