The Section is proud to have partnered with the City of Louisville’s Office of Sustainability’s Division of Community Forestry to put together a Tree Giveaway at the Section’s Fall Meeting in Louisville on October 10, 2015. The Section’s Young Lawyers Committee spearheaded this successful public service project, which was generously sponsored by the Kentucky Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section and the University of Louisville’s Center for Land Use and Environmental Responsibility.
January 04, 2021
Louisville Tree Giveaway Targets Heat Islands
Through sponsorships and donations from Section members, and contributions from the city, hundreds of trees were purchased and given away for free to Jefferson County residents on October 10. Residents could choose from 10 different species of trees. The Tree Giveaway was in connection with the city’s ongoing tree planting project for urban heat island mitigation.
Louisville has a tree canopy over only 37% of the city and suffers from a substantial urban heat island effect, meaning the urban areas are significantly warmer than the surrounding rural areas because of human activities and development, particularly traditionally paved roads and parking lots, buildings, and dark roofs in place of greenery.
According to the city’s Office of Sustainability, Louisville is one of the most rapidly warming cities in the United States. Increasing a city’s tree canopy can yield significant benefits to the community including reducing urban heat island effects, improving air quality, and reducing air conditioning and heating costs.
The Tree Giveaway was coordinated with the Land Use Committee’s CLE panel on October 9 on urban heat islands. That panel was moderated by Jessica Bacher, executive director of the Land Use Law Center at Pace University School of Law, and featured Maria Koetter, director of the City’s Office of Sustainability; Prof. Tony Arnold of the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law; and Sara Pollock Hoverter, a senior fellow and adjunct professor at the Harrison Institute for Public Law, Georgetown University Law Center.
The Section sincerely thanks its generous sponsors and Section members for making this Tree Giveaway a success!