2018 Mini-Grant Projects

In 2018, Taking Root awarded seven Mini-Grants for planting trees in low-canopy neighborhoods, local parks and school grounds. The grants enabled local entities to carry out self-initiated plans and projects in which the addition of new trees is just part of the project benefit.

In these 2018 projects, trees were planted to address local needs such as storm water runoff reductions and hillside reforestation, for which the new trees will become increasingly effective as they grow.  Many of the projects involved youth and other volunteers in a planting process that gave them new perspective on tree value and a sense of gratification from community service. Some projects leveraged additional resources for tree planting and maintenance, and most provided publicity that expands awareness of tree benefits and Taking Root goals.

Taking Root would like to thank Mini-Grant applicants for their passion and commitment for planting trees and to thank the Taking Root donors who enabled these projects to occur. Please consider making a contribution to Taking Root’s Tree Fund so we can continue to fund these great projects!

Below are the 2018 Mini-Grant recipients and short descriptions of their projects.

Mason Intermediate School planted 14 trees on school grounds with help from students and their parents. A teacher applied for the Mini-Grant, engaged his fifth-grade students in discussing the role of trees to overall well-being and then involved students in planting and tree care as a learning experience and service project.

Reading Park Department involved local youth in planting 10 trees along a low-canopy stretch of Mill Creek flood plain as a first step toward replacing some of the many mature trees that Koenig Park has lost over the past ten years. The parks director sees this as more than a tree-planting project – “it’s an opportunity to enhance city parks and improve residents’ quality of life and the natural environment.”

ReNewport organized a street- tree planting in a low-canopy and largely low-income neighborhood. It contributed funds, obtained a funding match from Campbell County Conservation District and a Mini-Grant from Taking Root and then worked with the Westside Citizen’s Coalition, neighborhood volunteers and Newport’s Public Works department to transport, plant, water and care for 44 new trees.

Saint Ursula Villa School used a Mini-Grant to add 20 trees to its twenty-acre campus as part of a reforestation project that began three years ago after clearing honeysuckle from three acres of steep hillsides. In conjunction with annual planting projects, the school’s developed an outdoor education program to connect students to nature and is diversifying tree species for learning and environmental purposes.

SpringDot, a local business in Cincinnati’s Camp Washington neighborhood along I-75, planted trees in its parking lot to add more “green” to a heavily urbanized neighborhood and encourage other businesses to do the same. The application notes: “We need trees in Camp Washington and I have a place for them. I am using this as a pilot program.”

The Willow Springs Homeowner Association has been wanting to plant trees to reduce drainage and erosion impacts ever since five acres were cleared of trees to provide unimpeded access for construction equipment. With help from a nursery, the boy scouts, residents and their families, the HOA selected and planted 17 trees to help reduce storm water runoff impacts, buffer traffic noise and expand canopy beauty and benefits in the community.

The City of Wyoming added 23 trees to its reforestation project in Stearns Woods along a tributary to Congress Run (a major tributary to Mill Creek). The city has planted hundreds of seedlings and trees on a 3-acre site after clearing it of invasive plants and returning the stream to its natural swale.