Why trees are important to a city’s growth

Newport, Kentucky, recently named one of the best small towns in America, has all the charm of a city that marries its past with the present. The growth of industry, population, and tourism have made it an attractive place to live. If you walk the tree-lined streets of the East Row of Newport during the yearly Garden Walk, taking place in early June, you can experience the importance of reforestation in urban areas.

Due to the efforts of ReNewport, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the lives of all residents of Newport, Westside Coalition, and the city of Newport, a grant was awarded to the city for urban forestry work that came through the U.S. Forest Service.

The grant narrative states the focus is: Plant street trees; remove concrete and add trees in four census tracts located in the west side of Newport*. This is an area of densely populated urban residences for primarily low-income households, and it has only a 10% tree canopy. This means that the low-income residents of Newport suffer the most intense urban heat island effects in the summer.

The impact of such a project is extensive. While some might think it has a great economic impact, the greater impact is on the quality of life. Planting trees improves air quality, reduces surface air temperature and helps to mitigate water runoff and flooding in the neighborhood.

Some interesting facts
West Newport actually has the lowest life expectancy in the entire region and public health issues play a large part. On a hot summer day, the Westside of Newport can easily be a good 10 to 20 degrees hotter than the Eastside, according to the Link Sys Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.

Sadly, the $995,000 grant was officially cancelled during the current federal administration cuts. This has prompted city officials as well as developers and volunteers to get creative in fundraising.

“It has unfortunately negatively impacted other projects of importance. In some cases, funds raised have had to be diverted that were meant for other greenspace projects. Those are either on hold or are canceled for the foreseeable future,” says Josh Tunning of the Westside Coalition.

The impact is extensive considering funding allows departments like Public Works to be more flexible and to be able to have more capacity to deal with day-to-day needs around the city. These have had to be streamlined for budgetary reasons.

As City Commissioner Ken Rechtin says, “The initial reaction to the defunding was one of shock, anger and disbelief. Fortunately, the city of Newport was not financially far out in front of this grant which was set up as a reimbursement grant. As the reality of the defunding situation set in, our city leadership decided that this program was a priority, and we would continue to put forth our best to accomplish the goals of the tree program. Our timeline may be pushed back a little, our scope might not be as targeted and the volume of trees might not be as we hoped, but our dedication to the end goal of increasing the urban canopy in Newport remains the same.”

There have been four volunteer tree plantings totaling seventy-five trees with over seventy volunteers participating to date.

What’s ahead?
Here's what has happened since the defunding:

• Four volunteer tree plantings
• Seventy-five trees have been planted
• Over seventy volunteers have participated to date.
• Replacement funding of approximately $350,000 from the state, a local developer and private donations has begun.

It is plain to see why Newport is one of the best small towns in America. It’s people, ingenuity and care for the planet make it a unique place.

* Source: Link Sys. The four census tracts in the west side of Newport, KY, are 2103050500 SE, 21037053200 NE, 21037050100 NW, and 21037050600 SW.

For more information and to purchase tickets for the 27th Annual Newport Garden Walk on June 7 and 8, 2025, visit East Row Garden Club here.