Newport's west side to get more green

rNEWPORT – The west side of Newport isn't known for rolling hills or green pastures.

But it could get a little more sylvan with the addition of about 60 trees this spring if residents come forward to purchase $25 trees to put outside their house.

An $8,000 grant from the Northern Kentucky Urban and Community Forestry Council to the city of Newport will make trees available for residents to have planted along the street in front of their house. Volunteers with the Westside Citizens Coalition, the East Row Garden Club and the city of Newport will deliver and plant the trees in May.

It is similar to a program that planted 91 trees in the East Row Neighborhood last fall.

"It's great that we got this money to do this," said Rachel Comte, a member of the East Row Garden Club, an urban forester and member of the Northern Kentucky Urban and Community Forestry Council. "Last year people just loved it. We thought we'd get 20 orders for trees, we got 91."

A study of the trees in Newport, known as the urban canopy, found the west side particularly lacking in vegetation.

The eligible area for the $25 trees runs from 13th Street north to the Ohio River and Washington Avenue west to the Licking River. The volunteers planting the trees won't be planting along the Licking River since construction of the AA Highway into Newport is ongoing there. The trees must be planted along the street in the right-of-way.

The urban landscape of aging, 100-year-old homes in Newport's west side doesn't have a lot of greenery, said Kyle Randall, a resident and secretary of the Westside Citizen's Coalition.

"The trees will benefit the west side for decades to come," Randall said. "It's exciting and encouraging that west side residents and East Row Garden Club members will be working side-by-side to plant these trees. I would expect friendships to form and community pride to rise."

The $25 fee is so the residents have a sense of ownership of the tree, Comte said. It's a $500 value, Comte said.

"In order to have someone take care of it, they have to have some skin in the game," Comte said. "We didn't want to have it to be a detriment to participate, but they just won't take care of it if they don't put any money into it."

Interested property owners must submit forms to purchase a tree by March 15. Visit EastRowGardenClub.org/trees for details and forms.