Berwyn Park District News

Trees needs annual maintenance, sometimes requiring medical treatment on an annual basis to keep them healthy and well. The Berwyn Park District was awarded a $8,775 grant to complete tree inventories and develop a management plan for its urban forest.

The funds were provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Urban and Community Forestry Core Grant Program, and administered by The Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI).

We are excited for the opportunity to have a complete inventory of all the trees in our parks and a formal management plan to guide us to care for and increase the overall tree canopy throughout the Berwyn Park District properties.

Funds will be used to remove dead and diseased trees in the parks and to continue planting trees throughout the parks, following a strategy that will not only increase the tree species diversity and increase the overall tree canopy to 23% in the next five years, but will benefit the residents for generations to come.

This grant provides communities with a better understanding of the urban forest areas they are managing by revealing an estimated number of trees, their size, condition, and species. The inventory will also identify opportunities to increase planting, and will inform the development of a comprehensive, long-term urban forest management plan.

Urban trees are critical infrastructure for a community, and this funding helps to protect one of its most important resources. 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.

Residents will begin to notice the removal of the dead and dying trees that pose a public safety risk. The Berwyn Park District has already begun planting trees in the parks and will continue in the fall to increase our species diversity and overall number of trees to also increase the parks tree canopy.

Tree Protection Plan (pdf)

Urban Forestry Management Plan (pdf)