Our longtime collaborators and like-minded canopy restorers Restore Mass Ave (RMA) bring beauty and elegance back to Embassy Row along Massachusetts Avenue in Northwest D.C. and this year they have exciting news!
Their Tree Plaza plan was one of 21 awards chosen under the Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns Grant Program this year. This long-running G3 program is funded by EPA Region III and managed by the Chesapeake Bay Trust. The goal of the G3 program is “to help local communities develop and implement plans that reduce stormwater runoff, increase the number of green spaces in urban areas … and enhance … community livability.”
Not only does RMA do all these things, so does their proposed Dupont Tree Plaza!
As most Washingtonians know the corner of Massachusetts Avenue on the west side of Dupont Circle is one of the city’s busiest most prominent intersections. Yet it is a lonely, barren patch of sidewalk offering little to the community.
This exciting project will transform the bare sidewalk on Massachusetts Avenue west of Dupont Circle with 11 more shade trees for 14 in all. The trees’ soil and rooting area will catch and utilize rain runoff. With more leafy canopy cleansing the air and a space designed for people and bikes, the Plaza will be a new community landmark.
Restore Mass Ave’s (RMA) grant is for designing the installation only; building the plaza will be another big step next year. The majority of G3 projects are by streams and rivers; just one grant before this went to downtown DC.
“RMA is honored that our local, sidewalk project will be linked to cleaning up our beloved Bay ecosystem,” said RMA President and Founder Deborah Shapley. “We will promote this message to the dozens of stakeholders to be involved in the design and the thousands of people who use the site daily.”
Restore Mass Ave is a 501(c)(3) that has planted 400 trees and arranged care for 1,000 trees along Embassy Row, Washington’s most famous diplomatic street. By engaging residents, embassies and public and private partners, Restore Mass Ave is working toward the full restoration of this historic Grand Avenue landscape. You can learn more about Restore Mass Ave and there work on their website.
