Boylston nonprofit receives $70K for outreach and tree planting in Worcester
Photo | Timothy Doyle
Small businesses in Worcester's Main South neighborhood
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston received a $70,559 grant from Massachusetts’ Greening the Gateway Cities Program to plant 100 trees in Worcester and conduct outreach to residents, businesses, and non-profit organizations in the Main South, Grafton Hill, and Bell Hill neighborhoods.
Greening the Gateway Cities aims to plant trees in order to reduce temperatures in a city for safety, reduction in energy use, and improve quality of life. Trees also help to control storm runoff, according to a Wednesday press release.
The lack of trees disproportionately affects lower-income neighborhoods, creating “urban heat islands” where the temperatures are higher than in other, more forested parts of the city.
“These funds represent an incredibly important opportunity to improve the health and climate resiliency of neighborhoods in real need of tree canopy and the many benefits trees provide,” says Grace Elton, CEO of New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill.
The grant is part of $825,703 distributed by the Greening the Gateway Program to the cities of Chelsea, Fall River, Haverhill, Holyoke, and Taunton as well as the Botanic Garden and the nonprofit Groundwork Lawrence.
The Greening the Gateway City Project is a partnership between state agencies, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Urban & Community Forestry Program, the Department of Energy Resources, and the Department of Housing and Community Development, along with Gateway Cities and local grassroots organizations.
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