Trees for Wilmington Case Study
Wilmington is Delaware’s largest city. With a population of 73,000, it is the heart of a much larger metropolitan area stretching across New Castle County. One of the key responsibilities of municipal government is maintaining and improving the infrastructure – the physical framework of the city – for the welfare of its residents.
Urban infrastructure can be divided into green and gray. Green infrastructure refers to areas covered with trees, shrubs and grass; gray infrastructure includes buildings, roads, utilities and parking lots. Green infrastructure is porous, allowing rain to soak into soil, which recharges ground water and naturally filters pollutants before entering rivers. Gray infrastructure is impervious, creating water runoff, which must be managed and cleaned before entering rivers.
Greening the City
Many communities around the country have implemented green infrastructure initiatives as a strategy for urban revitalization. In recent years, the Mayor and City Council of Wilmington have taken significant steps to improve the city’s environmental quality and raise public awareness about greening issues. In 1999 City Council convened an advisory group to recommend initiatives for enhancing the attractiveness of the urban landscape. By 2004 the Wilmington Beautification Commission (WBC) was chartered by official legislation.
Led by the Delaware Center for Horticulture, WBC membership includes representatives from City Council, government agencies, civic associations and a host of other environmental groups. In addition to a growing number of city parks improvements, the WBC launched “Think Green for a Change,” a campaign encouraging residents and businesses to make environmentally friendly lifestyle and development choices.
Wilmington has also committed itself to reducing the city government’s energy footprint. Stated goals include lowering green house gas (GHG) emissions 20% from current levels by 2020, and meeting the Kyoto Protocol target of a 7% reduction in GHG emissions from 1990 levels by 2012. Green infrastructure investments and a sustainable urban forest will be crucial for Wilmington to successfully meet these ambitious goals.
Trees for Wilmington
MISSION: Engage city residents, public partners, local government and businesses in the shared responsibility of city tree planting, care and preservation.
VISION: Coordinated tree management and planning will enhance the regional quality of life by promoting the aesthetic, environmental and social benefits of trees.
A model of community collaboration
Building on this green momentum, the Delaware Center for Horticulture created Trees for Wilmington in 2006 as a working group of the WBC. Trees for Wilmington (TFW) is composed of a variety of stakeholders, including city residents, policy-makers, government agency representatives and municipal employees. Based on a framework with proven success in other cities, the focus of the TFW coalition is improving the urban forest in Wilmington and promoting more sustainable management techniques.
The Trees for Wilmington coalition got off to a strong start, because it emerged from the existing Wilmington Beautification Commission. The City Council’s formal resolution of support that passed in 2007, a year after the coalition was up and running, also helped to legitimize TFW initiatives.
Probably the single most important factor in the success of TFW has been a central entity willing to lead the project – in this case, the Delaware Center for Horticulture. DCH assigned interns and staff members who were able to create supporting documents, handle administrative duties, conduct community outreach, identify skills within coalition members, and hire consultants to provide technical assistance.
Why a coalition approach is important
The TFW story is grounded in the best urban forestry management tools available plus years of anecdotal volunteer and funding successes. The coalition is broadening public support and making a strong case for positioning the City’s tree resources and green infrastructure on equal footing with other public assets.
Wilmington’s urban forest needs broad community support to reverse declining trends.
Wilmington relies on funds from a general operating budget to support forestry functions through the municipal Department of Parks and Recreation. In Wilmington urban forest management is not considered as high a priority as other operating needs, leading to chronic under-funding and making these line items vulnerable to reassignment in lean budget years. Although much had been accomplished before the formation of TFW to raise attention about the stewardship of Wilmington’s trees, municipal management continued to operate reactively. A comprehensive plan with broad-based support is required to address systemic issues.
One of the first acts of TFW was to draft a list of guiding principles. At the same time the group began developing a comprehensive urban forest strategy that would address the decades of deferred tree maintenance, educate leaders about the benefits of trees and why they are necessary to the vitality of the city, and propose strategies for long-term sustainability.
