OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Results are in and the public is invited to a review and summary of the 2019 Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area Tree Canopy Assessment project. Join us on November 6 at 2pm at Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Building, 3400 NW 36th Street in Oklahoma City to hear the results. Please RSVP to s.ledford@occf.org.
The first tree canopy survey to include the entire Oklahoma City Metro Area was conducted to help metropolitan cities shape their approach to beautification, quality of life and environmental sustainability, including air quality and stormwater runoff planning, as well as the location and type of trees that should be considered for planting going forward.
“We now have comprehensive baseline information for metro cities and schools to utilize for developing plans for planting trees to maximize benefits,” said Oklahoma Forestry Services Urban and Community Forestry Coordinator Mark Bays. “We are all excited to be able to provide this information to improve environmental sustainability for the future.”
The project was funded through a collaboration with the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) and Oklahoma Forestry Services. The partnership utilized nationally-recognized Davey Tree Service to collect the tree and vegetation data and produce the report. Results will be presented by Tina McKeand, Davey Resource Group, with representatives from each organization available for comments and questions.
Results provide significant quantitative information such as the Oklahoma City Metro’s 65 million trees that annually produce $150 million dollars in benefits, including, human health, air quality, stormwater runoff, carbon sequestration and energy savings. People may also be surprised to learn that the study area has 22% tree canopy, compared to 26% for the City of Tulsa.
For more information contact Mark Bays, Oklahoma Forestry Services, at mark.bays@ag.ok.gov or 405-522-6150.