RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Earth Day was celebrated around the world on Monday, and Richmond marked the occasion with the launch of a 5-year environmental initiative aimed at cooling down some of its hottest neighborhoods.
It’s called
“Cool the City”
and it is a 5-year plan to plant over a thousand trees across Richmond and invest in environmental workforce development.
“Trees are one of the most valuable resources that we can have in the city,” said Laura Thomas, Richmond’s Director of Sustainability.
The effort is backed by a $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service. It’s carried out in partnership between the city and several community-based organizations, like Virginia Interfaith Power and Light.
“Every church, every mosque, every temple is housed in a community where they can make a difference and actually, change the trajectory of that — the heat island effect,” said Virginia Interfaith Power and Light Executive director Faith Harris.
Thomas explained that the grant will help expand the city’s urban canopy, reduce stormwater runoff and increase access to green spaces — especially in areas most affected by extreme heat, known as
urban heat islands
.
“An urban heat island is an area of a community that is increased in temperature because of a lack of trees and an increase in pavement,” Thomas said. “So things like streets, roadways, sidewalks, building[s] — they all increase the heat in our neighborhoods.”
Thomas said such heat islands have been identified in parts of Richmond’s Southside, East End and Northside.
“Some of our neighborhoods can be 10 to 15 degrees hotter than other neighborhoods on the exact same day,” said Richmond Mayor Danny Avula.
Avula said Cool the City aligns with the RVAgreen 2050 Plan and represents a long-term investment in both people and place.
“We’re not just talking about planting trees in a park, about planting health and equity and opportunity for people across the entire city,” he said. “We are building a cooler, greener and more resilient Richmond that serves all of us.”
To learn more about the project or to get involved yourself, visit the city’s RVAgreen
website
.
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