The Iowa DNR's Derecho Community Forestry Grant Program will distribute $250,000 to counties and communities.
Each grant of up to $5000 requires a local dollar-for-dollar match, and the money can be used to buy trees, mulch, stakes, ties, or anything else required for planting trees.
Gabbi Edwards is the Urban Forestry Program Specialist for the Iowa DNR. She says trees soak up stormwater and clean the air, boost home prices, and and lower blood pressure and stress levels.
"You've got kind of the perfect trifecta with trees. They benefit the environment, they benefit our economy, and they benefit our personal health and well-being."
In Scott County, the Bettendorf School District will plant trees at 3 elementary schools and the middle school. In Clinton County, trees will be planted on land owned by Clinton County Conservation and the city of Low Moor. About 72 trees will be planted in the two counties.
The Forestry Grant Program will pay for an estimated 2,500 trees that will be planted in 19 Iowa counties, all on public property--including schools, parks, and along city streets.
