THE LEAFLET

Here at Casey Trees, we have a different “New Year”, we look at the year in terms of a fall and spring seasons. So, so we wrap on another spring season and our crews shift to watering and maintenance let’s take a look back at our numbers this year. 

Looking at the full planting year (Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 season) we are thrilled to report that we planted another record-breaking, 4,663 trees! This is a huge feat for our Tree Operations team so let’s break this year down a bit more:

77% of trees planted were medium and large trees – meaning they will have the highest environmental impact as they mature, shading our city and providing countless benefits. 

Something new we have to add to the record books is rain gardens. We added residential gardens to our suite of offerings this past year and are pleased to report that we have planted 3,738 small plants in 9,479 square feet of garden space! That’s nearly four full-size tennis courts of pure stormwater management beauty.

Now finally, our record-breaking year is certainly something to be proud of – but here at  Casey Trees, we pride ourselves not only on how many trees we can plant but where we can plant that will be the most impactful. We identified locations where at-risk populations, environmental risks, and planting opportunities intersect. 

Combining these variables, we discover that wards 5, 7, and 8 are the areas to target, and in recent years, Casey Trees has been moving towards this goal. These wards represent the largest canopy gap, with the largest planting areas still available. These wards also have high populations of people of color, as well as the largest socioeconomic gap – with average income, employment, and education levels falling below average for the city.  Additionally, when mapping high heat patches within the areas served by the MS4 sewer system, we find wards 5, 7, and 8 have the highest concentration of hot zones.