Photo courtesy of Mike DeGroot.
City of Dallas Planning and Development has announced the start of the Restoration Fund for the 2024 planting season.
The Reforestation Fund is for developers that come to the city and have to remove trees in order to complete their projects. These developers are required to have landscaping returned to the site they work within, whether they plant trees within five miles of their site or they pay into the fund that is used for free plantings on public properties throughout the city, according to the Arborist Project Coordinator Jessie Farris.
The fund, resulting in the planting of 1,827 trees last year, is accessible to residents who fill out a Restoration Program Group Tree Planting Application.
After applying, Farris and her team will evaluate the applications and the desired sites for planting. If the addresses in the application are verified and the desired area for planting is suitable for a tree, the tree vendor is contacted. A member of the Arborist team, usually Farris or her supervisor, will be there to confirm the trees are delivered to the right address and assist with planting and answering questions.
Farris hopes that connecting with churches, homeowners and associations will lead to more trees being planted moving forward.
“Our biggest goal is just expanding our tree canopy,” Farris said. “Some of the biggest issues we’ve had are our developers removing trees faster than we can get them in the ground.”
For additional information and questions, contact Farris at sara.farris@dallas.gov
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Aysia Lane is the Lakewood/East Dallas editor for the Advocate. She started in print back in 2018 and has been storytelling ever since. With a background in news and documentary film production, she’s always looking for a good story. Contact her via email at alane@advocatemag.com or on X @AysiaLane
