MADISON, WI – What’s the best place to plant a tree in Dane County? To answer this question, the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission (CARPC) and the Dane County Tree Canopy Collaborative created Growing Shade, an interactive web application designed to preserve and expand the greater Madison area’s tree canopy.
“Growing Shade makes it easy for local planning staff members, neighborhood groups and residents to figure out where planting new trees will have the most impact,” said Melanie Askay, Climate Specialist at the Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change, who chairs the Tree Canopy Collaborative. “Historically, tree canopy is disproportionately lower in areas of higher economic need. We hope our tool will shine a light on this inequity and empower communities to make informed decisions about future tree cover.”
The advanced web application combines demographic, environmental, public health, and socioeconomic data to illustrate how tree canopy cover differs across Dane County and how it has changed over time. Users can view data for any census block group, city, town, or village in Dane County, as well as Madison neighborhoods, and create custom maps, charts and reports.
“The tool makes it easier for municipal planning staff and Dane County residents to ensure everyone can reap the benefits from trees in our region,” said Askay. “Trees provide many benefits—not only to the environment, but also people’s physical and mental health.”
Benefits of a healthy tree canopy include cooler temperatures, erosion control and flood mitigation. Trees also absorb carbon from the atmosphere, helping to counteract greenhouse gas emissions. Despite their importance, Dane County’s trees have been under threat, particularly in residential areas and recreational spaces. A recent analysis by CARPC and the Tree Canopy Collaborative found that, on average, villages and towns across Dane County lost about 12% of their canopy coverage from 2010 to 2017, with decreases up to 38% in some places. This loss is primarily due to disease, but lack of maintenance and inconsistent development policies likely also play a role.
“Trees are an important form of community infrastructure, and we see funding opportunities and enthusiasm to plant more trees in our region for their many benefits,” said Jason Valerius, Executive Director at the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission. “Growing Shade is designed to help municipal staff, neighborhood groups, and community members direct investment in this critical green infrastructure so that it benefits residents and areas that need it the most.”
To learn more about how tree canopy coverage is changing in Dane County and ways you can get involved, visit: https://daneclimateaction.org/Initiatives/Tree-Canopy.
