In 2018, the City of Columbia created its Urban Forest Master Plan. Among other things, it aimed to increase the number of tree canopies across Columbia. Now, the city is in its maintenance phase of the plan, where it is performing upkeep on existing trees in city spaces.
“It's like an umbrella. How many times have you enjoyed being under a tree? You probably can't count the times,” William Folk said.
William Folk is a man who loves trees, as well as a concerned resident and professor at the University of Missouri.
Through research, he said he has learned that planting trees is the cheapest, most effective way to combat climate change.
“Over the many years I have lived in Missouri, “ Folk said. “I’ve planted thousands of trees on the farm.”
Folk added that urban tree canopies give cities a lower heat index – essentially a lower average temperature, which can lead to lower air conditioning bills.
This is important as global warming progresses, and is especially important for those living in the inner parts of Columbia, like those in Ward One.
“There are members of our community that are especially vulnerable to heat, that don't have the resources because of health effects, because of location,” Folk said.
Steve Fritz is the City Arborist and takes care of trees throughout the city. He said that trees and street right-of-ways are an important part of Columbia’s infrastructure.
Right now, Fritz is fulfilling the maintenance recommendation of the Urban Forest Master Plancreated in 2018, which includes the removal of hazardous trees that are infected by the Emerald Ash Borer.
The Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive beetle that kills ash trees. It was discovered in Columbia during summer 2019. Once a tree becomes infected, the canopy thins out. This is just another way of saying leaves fall and some branches die.
“You see more and more trees drop out and start to die," Fritz said. “And the issue with that is that once they die, they become pretty brittle and pretty dangerous pretty quickly.”
He added that the Urban Forest Master Plan is a living document that will adapt to the needs of Columbia and Columbians, which is where the City of Columbia Tree Board — a board that speaks for the trees — comes in.
Sam Wright, the chair of the Board, has a background in professional tree care and has held the position for six months.
He said new infrastructure and policy changes are needed to preserve more green space with better soil.
“If you notice driving through Columbia, very often we have a 4-foot-wide space in between the sidewalk and the street,” Sam Wright said. “And that's not a very big area to successfully cultivate a plant like a tree and it gets as big as a tree does.”
In Wright’s ideal world, the minimum amount of space for a mature tree would be 12 feet wide.
Longtime resident William Folk agreed, and said he’ll continue to speak at city council about the issue and about reversing the effects of climate change.
“We need solutions that reduce heat but also remove carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the environment at the same time and trees do that,” Folk said.
According to the Urban Forest Master Plan, more than 35 percent of Columbia is covered with tree canopies, but Folk wants to see more.
While the city is currently busy with the Emerald Ash Borer and planting new trees, the next phases of the Urban Forest Master Plan will be rolled out in the coming years on a flexible basis. That way, the city can be responsive in real-time.
