Kansas City tree planting ramps up for Earth Day
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KC volunteers at work. Photo: Courtesy of Jillian Youngbird Guthrie via Heartland Tree Alliance
Kansas Citians are planting trees this month to cool neighborhoods, reduce pollution and improve quality of life.
Why it matters: More trees can reduce extreme heat, filter pollution and absorb stormwater across Kansas City — plus, they make being outside more comfortable.
Context: Earth Day is Wednesday, and groups are working outside as part of a concentrated push toward a greener city.
- Some neighborhoods in Kansas City are considered heat islands, where excess concrete and a lack of tree canopy contribute to hotter temperatures and adverse health effects.
Zoom in: Volunteers got together last week to plant 50 trees along Brush Creek as part of a Heartland Tree Alliance event by local nonprofit Bridging the Gap.
- The tree alliance has additional plantings scheduled on Thursday in the Volker neighborhood and April 30 in the Crossroads.
What they're saying: "It's our couple busiest weeks of the year," Joe Wheelock, program manager for Heartland Tree Alliance, tells Axios.
- He says each project addresses a different issue, like improving air quality or reducing heat.
- "We know we have a heat island problem," Rick Usher, executive director of the Crossroads Community Improvement District (CID), tells Axios.
Yes, but: It's not just the Crossroads. Wheelock says areas along Prospect Avenue, Independence Avenue and Truman Road are heat islands too, and his organization also maps the East Bottoms and West Bottoms as problem spots.
State of play: The Crossroads Street Tree Initiative has planted more than 300 trees since it began in 2022, after a study found only 1.2% of the neighborhood had tree coverage.
- The Crossroads CID is planting smaller native species in road cutouts along 18th Street today.
Zoom out: Canopy KC is a citywide initiative that seeks to increase the city's tree cover and preserve existing canopies.
- Kansas City leaders last September celebrated 10,000 trees planted as part of KCMO's three-year Tree Preservation and Protection program.
- Overland Park's Urban Forest Plan seeks to improve the care framework of street trees, per the Johnson County Post.
What's next: Bridging The Gap's annual luncheon and fundraiser is April 29 ($100).
What we're watching: "We're kind of planting for tomorrow," Wheelock says, adding that most of the new trees' benefits won't be felt until the next generation.
- "That we can use trees to knit our communities together… that's my big dream."