ROCHESTER, N.Y. — We all know trees provide many benefits. They supply shade, filter air pollution, and give wildlife a place to live. But not everyone in Rochester is able to reap those benefits. News10NBC’s Antonina Tortorello spoke to the city forester on what’s being done to change that.

If you take a walk along Joseph Avenue, you’ll notice there’s not many trees. That’s why the city is taking the initiative to plant more, especially in underserved areas

The push here started two years ago. City Forester Andrew Place says the tree expansion and beautification initiative is halfway to one of its two goals.

“Increase our tree canopy to 70,000 trees by 2025,” Place said. “We’ve planted 3,000 trees. So now we’re at about 67,000 trees.”

The second goal, Place says, is perhaps the most important.

“Ensure equitable access to tree canopy to those neighborhoods that aren’t typically or historically underplanted,” he said.

Highland Park has the highest tree canopy coverage in the city with 49%.

But the tree coverage on Joseph Avenue is vastly different — 18%. That disparity has an impact.

“They help lower our cooling costs, they provide shade, they filter out pollutants, they intercept storm water and they sequester carbon…” Place said.

Trees don’t just help the environment. They help you too.

“Mental health, physical health, anxiety, stress green spaces… They all kind of contribute and help elevate those issues for people,” Place said.

The city knows that, and plans on updating its urban forest master plan for the first time in a dozen years.

“The more we can provide those benefits across the city for the future, the more we can provide those benefits for the future, the better we’re all going to be ensuring that fair access to those benefits,” Place said.

Antonina spoke to a resident who said that seeing these trees being planted in his area is a beautiful thing. You can tell if a tree has been newly planted if any wires and polls are still helping to hold it up. Once they grow big and create tree canopies, the underserved communities will have the benefits that some other parts of the city are already enjoying.

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