Local

Volunteers plant thousands of trees in Chantilly

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hundreds of volunteers planted more than 1,000 trees Saturday morning at the site of the former Cavalier apartments near Briar Creek.

The apartments used to be known as Charlotte’s most flood-prone area, with the creek repeatedly flooding during storms in the 1990s all the way up until the mid-2000s. The Charlotte Fire Department repeatedly dispatched its swift-water rescue team to get residents to safety during these flooding events. Some floods even rose to the second floor of some buildings.

According to the county, The Doral and Cavalier apartment complexes were built in the 1960s before there were restrictions on construction in floodplains. A series of devastating floods in a short time span that caused millions of dollars in damage to both the complexes and the belongings of residents forced the county to find a solution to the problem.

The county implemented a plan to remove the buildings and create an ecological sanctuary where the complexes once stood. Between 2008 and 2010, Mecklenburg County purchased the properties and demolished the 32 buildings that once housed 320 families.

While the creek will still flood during heavy rains, the ecological sanctuary’s land will not be harmed in such events. The sanctuary also helps improve air and water quality and provides an urban habitat for wildlife.

Saturday’s tree-planting event was put on by  The Creek ReLeaf Program,  a collaborative effort of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services, the Charlotte Public Tree Fund, Central Piedmont Community College, the Sierra Club Central Piedmont Group and Trees Charlotte. Through the program, trees are planted in floodplain and stream buffers throughout the county. Locations for planting are selected specifically for their ability to improve air and water quality, the tree canopy and wildlife habitats.