Nature Nurture: Joliet Given Grant For Urban Forest Management

JOLIET, IL — The City of Joliet this month received a $20,000 grant to use toward planning for and managing its urban forest.

The city's mayor, Bob O’Dekirk, said the grant will "will provide many significant benefits to the community" including cleaner water, better wildlife habitats, educational opportunities and recreation. It will also be used to create an active forest management program.

The management program, the city said in a news release, will better help the community and its leaders understand the trees currently in the area and pave the way for future planting and development.

The grant will be supplemented with matching funds from Joliet's current city forestry budget, according to the release. The work of creating a management program will be completed by the end of 2021.

“Urban trees are critical infrastructure for a community, and this funding helps to protect one of its most important resources,” Chicago Region Trees Initiative director Lydia Scott said in a statement. “Trees clean our air and water, reduce flooding and heat, improve our mental and physical health, and provide important habitat for birds and other wildlife.”

The funds were provided by the US Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service and were distributed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Urban and Community Forestry Core Grant Program. The grant is administered by The Morton Arboretum and Chicago Region Trees Initiative.