Between wind damage and the long term soaking they suffered as the result of the Army Corps of Engineers levee failures, New Orleans’ trees took a tremendous hit in 2005.

Tulane University estimates the city lost 75% of its trees, so many in fact that their loss “canceled the benefits of a year’s worth of tree growth throughout the rest of the country.” (Times-Picayune, 4/17/08)

Can that be true? And this doesn’t count thousands of acres of trees destroyed in Mississippi and Alabama.

Parkway Partners, founded in 1982 to fill the gap in the city’s budget for taking care of neutral grounds and other public green spaces, is focusing on the problem.

Their ReLeaf program has already planted 4,500 trees and given away thousands of year old saplings. The cost to plant and care for a new tree for a year (a critical period in the life of a tree), $300 to $500.

You can find out more and lend your support here:

http://www.parkwaypartnersnola.org/