Executive Summary
Trees clean the air and make Louisville beautiful. Trees protect the climate and save energy costs. Trees mitigate the impact of storm water on the land. Those are a few of the impacts of trees that were considered when the Community of Trees was organized in Spring 2007 by the Mayor’s Office. With Brightside and Metro Parks as the lead agencies, a consortium made up of Metro agencies, JCPS, U of L, EONUSA, E-Corps, the Kentucky Division of Forestry among others was formed to develop a comprehensive approach to trees in our city. Community of Trees has identified five action items that form the basis of a significant environmental initiative.

1. Establish acceptable regulatory oversight of tree planting and maintenance.
2. Gather information to help us establish baseline data, understand the current tree canopy and quantify its value.
3. Create master tree planting and maintenance plan for significant areas of our community starting with downtown.
4. Fund the plan(s) through public funds, grant opportunities, private donors and in-kind gifts. Achieving “Tree City” designation will help us find funds.
5. Launch outreach campaign to provide baseline education on the value of trees to average citizens.