Study shows the number of trees in Louisville is on the rise

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A new study shows the number of trees in Louisville is rising, not declining.

Back in 2012, a study from the University of Vermont indicated that Louisville was losing hundreds of acres of trees each year.

On Thursday, Mayor Greg Fischer spoke to students at Medora Elementary, the same place local non-profit ‘Trees Louisville’ started planting trees back in 2015.

“We help influence Mother Nature,” he said to students. “We as human beings, we are nature.”

Fischer said humans have an impact on nature, and that’s why the city is working to keep it healthy.

Almost seven years after planting trees at Medora Elementary, ‘Trees Louisville’ has planted or given away over 16,000 trees.

About 150 of them are at Medora Elementary, as students learn the benefits of trees as they relate to themselves and nature.

The latest Urban Canopy assessment commissioned by ‘Trees Louisville’ shows positive results.

“Our first canopy assessment did call for a very steep decline in tree canopy,” said ‘Trees Louisville’ founder Cindi Sullivan, “but we have not only held steady, we have increased. So it’s fabulous news. It means the work that our partners are doing is working.”

Total tree canopy coverage in Jefferson County is now at 39 percent.

That means 39 percent of Louisville is covered by at least one tree canopy. That number is from 38 percent.

While one percent may not seem like a lot, anything trending up is against the norm.

Mayor Fischer says it’s all part of a bigger plan to reach 45 percent.

“We’ve got another couple decades to get that done,” he said.

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