Why Your Tree Lawn Needs A Tree

With Arbor Day and Earth Day just around the corner, please consider allowing the City to plant a free tree in your tree lawn or front lawn.  If you do not currently have a tree lawn tree and it is a suitable location for planting without overhead obstructions or an existing mature tree nearby, the City will plant one at no cost to you.  If you live on one of the twenty-three streets with tree lawns too narrow for planting, the City will plant one in your front lawn at no cost to you.  This list includes the following streets: Adeline, Athens, Blossom Park, Cannon, Elmwood (Detroit to Hilliard), Ferndale, Hall, Hilda, Idlewood, Lakewood (Detroit north to railroad tracks), Lanning, Leonard, Northwood, Olive, Olivewood, Park Row, Phelps, Riverside, Roycroft, Rockway, Spring Garden, Thoreau, and Westlake.  Click here for more information about this program.

If you already have a tree lawn tree but would like an additional tree planted in your yard, the City’s contracted installer will plant one for you at the same cost the City pays.  Residents can purchase a shade tree and have it professionally installed in their desired location.  For more information or to sign up for this program, click here.

Why should you plant a tree?  Trees provide countless benefits to our community and well-being.  Aesthetically, they provide shade and beauty, privacy and a sense of calm and serenity.  Lakewood is well-known for its beautiful tree-lined streets and we must continue to plant trees to replace those planted decades ago as they succumb to old-age or disease and insect pressures such as emerald ash borer.

The environmental benefits of trees are countless.  They remove and store carbon from the atmosphere along with pollutants and particulate matter.  They intercept rainfall and slow runoff and precipitation, taking pressure off our aging stormwater infrastructure.  They help control erosion by stabilizing soil with their root systems.  When planted where they can provide shade to buildings and paved surfaces, they help mitigate the urban heat island effect which can increase the temperature in cities by several degrees over surrounding areas.

Then there are the economic benefits of trees.  Utility consumption is decreased when the shade they provide cools our homes and lessens our dependency on air conditioning.  By slowing precipitation and runoff and decreasing the demands on our stormwater system, trees help mitigate the costs of maintenance and repair of these systems.  A healthy urban forest also helps sustain a vibrant and attractive community.  Beautiful tree-lined streets increase property values, stimulate local business and attract visitors and guests.  Planting trees is critical for Lakewood to continue to be the healthy, vibrant, and livable community that it is today.

Trees benefit our health and mental wellness too.  Being surrounded by trees is critical to our psychological well-being.  They make us healthier, happier, and more creative.  They remove pollutants from the atmosphere and improve air quality.  Their shade cools our homes and neighborhoods and help keep us comfortable.

But most importantly, planting a tree is good for your soul.  It is an unselfish act and a good deed that benefits not only you, but your neighbors and everyone around you – not just for today but for the future generations who will reap the benefits that tree will provide for many years to come.

So please consider allowing the City of Lakewood to plant a free tree for you this Spring.  If you are interested, please contact the City of Lakewood Division of Streets and Forestry to request that a shade tree be planted by calling (216)529-6810, or consider a tax deductible donation to the City’s Gift-a-Tree initiative.