Planting 1 million trees is great. Planting 5 million trees would be awesome. It is a little early for New Years resolutions but I think I’m going to set a goal planting 10 trees in 2023.
After more than a year, the “Tree for Every Delawarean Initiative” is still moving toward its goal of planting one million trees to mirror the First State’s population.
The initiative is part of Delaware’s Climate Action Plan, which Governor John Carney introduced last year in order to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions while improving its resilience to the consequences of climate change.
According to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the state is already experiencing the effects of climate change, with higher temperatures, longer summers, rising sea levels, and increasing precipitation. With the help of DNREC and the Delaware Forest Service, Delaware began using tree-planting as one of its strategies to enhance the quality of water and air, protect the soil, and sustain wildlife.
“Trees also need management,” said Kesha Braunskill, the urban and community forestry coordinator of the Delaware Forest Service. “We really want to make sure that folks are really thinking about their trees and their communities as infrastructure, just like they think about their sidewalks and roads.