Parma’s tree canopy gets boost with 67 new plantings across city

PARMA, Ohio — The end of the year finds dozens of residential tree plantings taking place all over the city.

“We have 67 trees going in at a cost of $46,450,” Parma Service Director Tony Vannello said.

“They’re all tree lawn trees, which are an asset to the city.

“They’re, obviously, pretty flowering trees. We do a lot of Japanese lilacs or ivory silk species that have a white flower,” Vannello said.

The effort includes 53 tree lawn tree requests this year from residents, which the service director noted is part of the equation when it comes to replenishing the tree canopy.

“For whatever reason, I probably get more requests to have trees removed than I actually do to install them,” he said.

“We’re trying to change that narrative a little bit, but it does require resident participation to some degree.”

Mayor Tim DeGeeter called replenishing the tree canopy a priority.

“We appreciate City Council’s support identifying a residential home for a tree lawn tree,” he said.

Residents interested in having a new tree lawn tree often contact their council member or call City Hall.

“We forward all those requests to our City Council office,” Vannello said.

“They track and record those residential requests through the year. When we’re ready to get moving and plant trees, we pull that latest list from them and fill the tree requests in the order they were received.”

The other tree planting effort can be found on West 54th Street, where the city is finishing the replacement of dying crabapple trees with Japanese lilac trees.

Then there’s the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD), which is also busy planting trees at the Bonny Banks detention basin, located west of York Road and north of Sprague Road, as well as at the Dell Haven Basin.

The latter can be found on the northeast corner of the York Road and Pleasant Valley Road intersection, behind Holy Family Catholic Parish and Pleasant Valley Elementary School.

NEORSD Watershed Team Leader Nicole Velez said trees play an important role in the sewer district’s work.

“Two of the projects that we are wrapping up now — Bonny Banks and Dell Haven basins — will not only mitigate flooding, but will showcase over 200 native trees,” she said.

“Native trees play a vital role in our communities. They reduce stormwater runoff, provide food and habitat for local wildlife and bring people a sense of wellbeing.

“The sewer district looks to incorporate trees wherever we can to build up our shared urban canopy.”

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