BALTIMORE, Md. — Several Baltimore neighborhoods are getting a little greener this fall.
Forestry technicians with Baltimore Tree Trust kicked off the organization's planting season in Bayview, where crews are planting 100 trees as part of a larger effort to add 1,000 trees across Baltimore by the end of the year.
For neighborhood forestry technician Tori Smith, the work is about more than beautifying a neighborhood.
"Out here making the neighborhood look a lot better than it was," Smith said. "It's peaceful, it's like you're tying back into the earth."
Smith and fellow forestry technician Donald Jarvis spent the day planting young trees that will eventually provide shade, help combat pollution and improve air quality.
"Oxygen is the most important part," Jarvis said. "We plant trees for public health."
Baltimore Tree Trust officials said they're working in neighborhoods like Bayview because they lack the green space found in other parts of the city.
"Before we started planting, there were very few trees lining the streets," Dannielle Sturgeon, senior director of development, said. "It can be as hot as ten to 12 degrees hotter where there's no shade coverage."
The benefits extend below ground as well, according to Dr. Kliffi Blackstone, Baltimore Tree Trust's director of forestry.
"The deconstruction of the soil, how soil runoff works, we're now limiting all that, so now we won't have nuisance flooding," Blackstone said. "You have less soil being compacted and less soil runoff when we have too much rain."
Blackstone said the organization's mission is also rooted in addressing green inequity across Baltimore.
"Clean air is still kind of a privilege in Baltimore instead of a right," Blackstone said. "A lot of areas that are ignored are being acknowledged by us. There are neighborhoods that specifically want trees, and they're desperate for them, and they just need support."
Neighbors are already taking notice.
"Good job, really," Bayview resident Anas Matwally said as crews worked nearby. "I hope all the streets they do this. All the streets should have trees like that. It's important, especially in the summer with changing weather."
Baltimore Tree Trust plans to continue planting through December and will maintain the newly planted trees for the next two years.
"We out here in the sun, out here in the wintertime," Jarvis said. "We work 12 months out of the year. Planting trees, you feel good about yourself."
Smith agreed, saying it makes her feel more connected to her community.
"On the weekends, drive past, see the work I've done, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of trees," she said. "It's a good feeling."
Baltimore Tree Trust offers volunteer opportunities throughout the year and accepts donations to support their work. Click here for more information.
