CLEVELAND — Cleveland has many nicknames, "CLE," "The Land," but one of its oldest is “The Forest City."

However, over time the city’s tree canopy and those in surrounding cities like Akron have been shrinking.

What You Need To Know

  • Cleveland was once known as "The Forest City" 

  • Cleveland's current tree canopy is 18%

  • Akron will invest $750,000 in planting trees 

 According to the Cleveland Tree Coalition, the city’s tree canopy is at 18% and quickly declining. Cities like Cleveland and Akron are green lighting hundreds of thousands of dollars to reverse that trend.

“Lack of maintenance and severe weather events have contributed to the loss of many trees,” said Sara Tillie, the director of the Cleveland Tree Coalition.

According to a research team from Baldwin Wallace University, there was a 59% increase in development in Cuyahoga County between 1979 and 2021. This means many trees were removed. 

Akron and Cleveland both have plans to bring more trees back. 

Akron City Arborist Matthew Knull is hands on with this project.

“It’s planting of trees to replace ones that have been lost due to storm damage.” said Knull. “Mortality, which is a natural thing that occurs in an urban forest. And it’s also to improve the tree canopy throughout the city.”

The city of Akron will spend $750,000 this year on planting 1,800 trees, focusing on the south and southwest areas of the city. 

The Cleveland Tree Coalition will have $300,000 to plant trees.

“The city’s working on inventories for the public right of way trees, and that’s going to be really vital in forming a goal when that’s, you know, that’s quite data and really helping us to understand where we currently are and where we want to be.” said Tillie. “So, by the end of 2025, I hope that the coalition, in partnership with the city, has some solid principles to report on.”

Tillie said the current tree canopy for the Cleveland area is approximately 18% and a healthy tree canopy should be approximately 30%. 

She’s hoping to partner with the city of Cleveland’s newly formed Department of Urban Forestry to do better at planting and caring for trees.

According to the city of Cleveland 2025 Mayor’s Estimate, the city removed 1,500 trees last year and only planted 62.

In 2023, it removed more than 1,300 trees and planted only 15.

Both Akron and Cleveland now have the funds to plant the trees. The next step is finding the right trees.

“It’s important to choose the right tree for the right place.” said Knull. “So, you don’t have damage to infrastructure such as our utility lines, power lines, communication lines, as well as sidewalks.”

Some trees Akron and the Cleveland Tree Coalition will plant are northern red oak, serviceberry, sugar maple, swamp white oak, or tulip trees.