Delaware Forest Service funds community tree and planting projects

Delaware Forest Service’s 2016 Urban and Community Forestry Grant Program awarded funds for community tree projects. The program’s goal is to increase tree canopy, beautify community spaces and promote the benefits of trees.

Since 2000, more than $1.4 million has helped fund the planting of almost 9,500 trees throughout the First State. Overall tree survival over the entire period was almost 70 percent, and average annual tree survival was more than 90 percent.

In addition, the Delaware Forest Service also funded grants for tree planting projects within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, an effort to improve water quality by mitigating stormwater runoff, and reducing erosion and sedimentation.

Tree planting grants recipients in Sussex County were Georgetown Little League Sussex, $1,147.50; Town of Georgetown, $1,228.25; Town of Henlopen Acres, $2,751.45; and The Villages of Five Points, $4,250.

Chesapeake Bay planting grants in Sussex County were Trap Pond Partners, $4,999 and Seaford Library, $800.

For more information, contact Kesha Braunskill at 302-698-4578 or kesha.braunskill@state.de.us or go to delawaretrees.com.