Cities step up tree plantings

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Increasingly, trees are the new must-have for American cities. Some prodded by environmental awareness, some by regulatory edict, they’re stepping up tree plantings in hopes of improving air quality, reducing energy consumption and easing storm water flows.

And a four-man team of scientists at the University of Vermont is helping urban planners and foresters gauge the existing “tree canopy”


Their expertise has been tapped by public and private groups in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., and several Maryland towns eager to green their cities with the help of private property owners.

“Everybody’s trying to do their best to improve tree canopies and work with developers and urban planners to make sure they remove as little tree canopy as possible in their projects,” said Mark Buscaino, executive director of Casey Trees, a not-for-profit in Washington, D.C., that works to green the nation’s capital.

AP