Kansas Citians are planting trees this month to cool neighborhoods, reduce pollution and improve quality of life.
Why it matters: More trees can reduce extreme heat, filter pollution and absorb stormwater across Kansas City — plus, they make being outside more comfortable.
Context: Earth Day is Wednesday, and groups are working outside as part of a concentrated push toward a greener city.
- Some neighborhoods in Kansas City are considered heat islands, where excess concrete and a lack of tree canopy contribute to hotter temperatures and adverse health effects.
Zoom in: Volunteers got together last week to plant 50 trees along Brush Creek as part of a Heartland Tree Alliance event by local nonprofit Bridging the Gap.
- The tree alliance has additional plantings scheduled on Thursday in the Volker neighborhood and April 30 in the Crossroads.
What they’re saying: “It’s our couple busiest weeks of the year,” Joe Wheelock, program manager for Heartland Tree Alliance, tells Axios.
- He says each project addresses a different issue, like improving air quality or reducing heat.
- “We know we have a heat island problem,” Rick Usher, executive director of the Crossroads Community Improvement District (CID), tells Axios.
Yes, but: It’s not just the Crossroads. Wheelock says areas along Prospect Avenue, Independence Avenue and Truman Road are heat islands too, and his organization also maps the East Bottoms and West Bottoms as problem spots…