In a spring drenched in pollen it might seem like Raleigh has too many trees, but the City of Oaks actually needs more of them to offset losses from development.
A tree canopy assessment conducted by Wake County in 2023 found that between 2010 and 2020, the county lost 11,000 acres of trees, with Raleigh itself losing 1,305 acres, or 2% of its canopy.
“It was not a pretty picture,” said Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell. “That’s a lot of loss.”
Now Raleigh hopes to counter the saws of development with an army of city workers and volunteers wielding shovels. The city’s Leaf Out program is launching a drive to plant 24,000 trees by the city’s 240th birthday in 2032…