GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — U.S. Congresswoman Hillary Scholten announced a $5 million federal grant Monday morning benefiting Grand Rapids parks.
Scholten says the grant will be allocated to Friends of Grand Rapids Parks for the purpose of adding new trees in the city, addressing environmental and economic concerns.
“We know what an important role trees play in not only the beautification of our city, creating gorgeous green spaces to gather, but also in helping to clean our rivers and streams in carbon sequestration,” says Scholten. “Friends of Grand Rapids Parks has been cultivating vibrant parks, green spaces and trees in the Grand Rapids community in order to enhance our thriving Park infrastructure since 2008. These federal dollars will go such a long way to increasing our overall tree cover.”
Grand Rapids Parks Executive Director Stacy Bare says the grant will allow them to plant 15,000 trees and restore habitats across more than 600 acres of forest, which in turn would help curb invasive species and address the impacts of climate change.
Mayor Rosalynn Bliss was in attendance for Monday's announcement.
“We're coming together in this combination of an incredible grant that will be a catalyst to move us forward and get us a whole lot closer to that 40% tree canopy,” says Bliss. “This grant gets us a whole lot closer to reaching that goal in public spaces, and we’ll continue to work together as a community to encourage people to plant trees on private land.”
