Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski announced a new street tree replacement initiative in an effort to restore the county’s green infrastructure.
The $625,000 project by Baltimore County’s Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability will plant more than 1,300 trees in six different Baltimore County neighborhoods over the next year.
According to county officials, trees are crucial for boosting residents’ health and wellbeing, by providing oxygen, absorbing carbon dioxide, improving air quality, lowering summer temperatures, and absorbing greenhouse gasses. Additionally, they lower the costs of cooling a home and provide food and shelter for wildlife.
“Baltimore County is fully committed to making our communities greener, cleaner, and more sustainable, and we are all in on trees as an important part of that commitment,” Olszewski said in a statement. “This new Street Tree Replacement Program will help bring back the tree-lined neighborhoods and business corridors that make our county a beautiful and healthy place to live and work.”
The project, funded by the county, will start immediately by planting 72 street trees in Towson and 31 trees along Dolfield Road in Owings Mills.
Next spring, 250 trees will be planted in Dundalk, Owings Mills, Randallstown, Parkville, Pikesville, and Woodlawn.
“We are excited about County Executive Olszewski’s commitment to add street trees in downtown Towson,” said Baltimore County Councilman Mike Ertel, who represents Towson. “Over the years, we have had many trees that have been lost to aging, disease, construction, vandalism and even car accidents. The reality is that trees are an important part of a complete streetscape and create a more congenial, walkable and safer atmosphere.”
In 2021, the Olszewski administration began another green initiative, Operation ReTree Baltimore County, a program that sought to expand tree canopies in highly populated, lower-income neighborhoods. With that program, more than 1,000 trees were planted in Dundalk, Essex, Randallstown, and Lansdowne.
Officials say that between Operation ReTree Baltimore County and the new Street Tree Replacement Program, the county will plant more street trees in one year than the past eight years combined.
Which trees will be planted ?
Better not be Bradford Pear.
The County kicked off the initiative by planting a native hackberry tree in downtown Towson.
I guess my neighborhood doesn’t matter. Residents of Hawthorn received mail about the program in the summer. Those that apples were told the trees would be planted in Sept, then Oct, then Dec. Here it is 12/20 and nothing. I guess they are too busy lining their pockets with our tax dollars to actually plant any trees.