10 Mature Trees Planted in Erie Street Cemetery
By Drew Crawford and Ian Meadows
May 30, 2025
Downtown Cleveland, Inc. is committed to expanding downtown’s tree canopy and helping to reforest the Forest City.
In the past two years, we have secured nearly $100K to expand downtown’s tree canopy. In 2024, we planted 18 trees and assessed 1,300 existing trees. This year, we will plant another 36 mature trees. As part of this initiative, we planted 10 mature trees in Erie Street Cemetery this past week.
How and why we did it:
A well-maintained tree canopy enhances downtown’s sense of safety and improves the pedestrian experience. Placemaking is economic development.
The tree plantings were made possible by a grant from the Cleveland Tree Coalition (CTC) and support from the City of Cleveland.
The Erie Street Cemetery is an excellent spot for new trees to thrive given its healthy soil. The tree species were chosen specifically for their track record of success in this location.
We have funding to maintain the new trees for the next three years with watering, pruning, and maintenance as part of the CTC Award.
What’s next:
We have a long way to go to reach our reforestation goals, but with over $75,000 spent on trees and tree maintenance over the last 12 months and $25,000 more to go this year, you can expect to see new plantings popping up throughout downtown.
But wait, there’s more:
Fundraising for Reforestation: Thanks to generous support from individuals throughout the community, we exceeded our “Reforesting the Forest City” fundraising campaign goal of $5,000, raising over $5,600 to support this year’s plantings.
Stay tuned as we continue to invest in our city’s core, including planting and maintaining even more trees downtown!