Volunteers are making a map of Charlotte’s trees

CHARLOTTE — Charlotte volunteers are preparing for planting season by doing a ‘checkup’ on the trees already in the ground.

Channel 9’s climate reporter Michelle Alfini followed one tree-mapping mission.

When a neighborhood has plenty of trees, it’s cooler, the air is healthier and it’s more livable. That’s why TreesCharlotte is investing in neighborhoods to grow the canopy. But first, they need good data on what’s already there.

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To know your neighborhood trees, Heather Brent with TreesCharlotte likes to get up close and personal.

“We want the granular data. We want to be able to tell the trees on the ground,” Brent said.

She’s leading a group of volunteers in the historic Hoskins neighborhood in a tree-mapping effort.

“It kind of reminds me of Pokémon Go, except for trees,” said Christopher Sancho Smalls, HOA president at Hoskins Mills.

The volunteers identify area trees, input details like their size and exposure to the sun, and from there they can determine what kinds of benefits they provide.

“They’re taking carbon in from the atmosphere. They’re mitigating stormwater from a big rain event. They’re cooling us down,” Brent said.

Mapping also reveals where neighborhood trees are lacking.

TreesCharlotte chose the historic Hoskins neighborhood for their Treesilience program because it has historically lacked the kind of investment that builds a diverse, healthy tree canopy.

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The program helps locals care for the trees they have, identify trees that may be close to the end of their lifespans, and provides new trees where neighborhoods need them.

“It’s really cool just to think that one day we’re going to have these fully mature trees that are just, you know, going to improve that environment but also the look and feel of our property,” Smalls said.

Smalls helped plant these trees near his condo last winter. He says he looks forward to watching them take root and helping future efforts to make his neighborhood greener.

“I think it really inspires in the neighborhood,” he said.

The City of Charlotte is also working to plant 800 new trees every year. Its goal is to have 50% canopy coverage along streets by 2050.

You can request a tree for your street on the City of Charlotte’s online platform at this link.