Along with all the other destruction, the March tornado in Little Rock devastated the trees. Thousands were ripped from the ground or snapped at the trunk, which left playgrounds, businesses, streets and whole neighborhoods without the tree canopy the residents knew and loved.
“I was just overcome with sadness about the loss of our trees,” resident Deborah Allen said during a meeting with city officials about replanting on Tuesday morning. Allen, who lives in the Kingwood area, said she couldn’t see the sky from her yard before the tornado. Now, her neighborhood is barren and bleak, Allen said.
Replanting every tree the tornado claimed is a huge feat. On Tuesday, Allen presented a drafted plan to city officials that detailed the benefits of urban tree developments and suggested a USDA grant opportunity and potential local partnerships.
City Directors Kathy Webb and Capi Peck were on the call Tuesday, as well as the city’s policy advisor, James Owen; its grant writer, Amanda Jones; and Parks Director Leland Couch. Mary Bea Gross, a Cammack Village resident who has experience drafting grants, also joined in the conversation.
Couch said that the city’s crew who could replant trees is only four people, but other volunteer opportunities or organizations may be available to help. It could also go down the route of a contractor, Couch said. Potential partners that Allen listed on her draft proposal include the Arkansas Forestry Commission, the Clinton School of Public Service, AmeriCorps and about two dozen others. The utility companies would also be involved in the plan to ensure gas lines and power cables wouldn’t be affected.
The deadline to meet a federal grant is June 1, so most of the behind-the-scenes work would need to happen this week, ahead of Memorial Day weekend, Jones said. If the city were approved, the money available ranges from $100,000-$50 million.
The whole tree replanting plan is still in its beginning stages. Officials have noted multiple times that they want to ensure the trees that return to Little Rock are the appropriate kind. Couch also floated multiple ideas of how to get started, including designating a plot of land as a tree growing location where trees can be potted and watered before they’re put into the ground.