Welcome to the EcoMinutes. This is Dr. Enid Sisskin. I'm in the studio with Chelsea Mahan, co-founder of the Canopy Restoration Project. She's a longtime environmental activist and community organizer. Chelsea, welcome. Briefly, can you tell me what the Canopy Restoration Project is?
Chelsea Mahan: Yes. Thank you for having me. The Canopy Restoration Project was founded in 2022, and it's a street tree planting program. So we plant within the right-of-way and 20-feet beyond. We started out just within the city limits, and we've expanded to working with the county some, and we plant trees within residential properties. So people from the city, now from the county, volunteer to receive a tree. We call them our participants, and we plant the trees, and they're in charge of watering them.
Sisskin: So what prompted its creation?
Mahan: I like to think that three things prompted its creation. So the first thing was in 2018, I was concerned about the resilience of the city. I read through the suggestions of the Climate Task Force, and I read a lot about trees and how important tree planting was. So it got me thinking. And then, let's see, in 2020, Jared Moore, who's our city councilman, he approached us about planting trees within our park. So in Lions Park in East Pensacola Heights, we had very few trees. It was really barren, and we were excited about this. And I was thinking about those suggestions from the Climate Task Force. And he said, “Well, in order to do this, it would be really great if you could establish a neighborhood association.” So we did it, and it was at a time when COVID was just hitting, so we would meet online. But we came up with a plan to plant trees. And we got over 50 trees planted in Lions Park. And I just felt so proud of that project. And it was really fulfilling, and everyone was really excited about it and energized. So after that, I started walking a lot because my daughter was colicky. So I just had a lot of solace from walking. And she would sleep, and I noticed trees. And I was remembering how proud I was of this project. And then Hurricane Sally happened. A lot of trees came down, and I noticed people weren't replanting, and even just the species of trees falling; a lot of them were laurel oaks, and the live oaks were doing really well. So I just got to thinking about how we could try to get more trees in my neighborhood, because that's where the project started was in East Pensacola Heights, and it's expanded into the city, into the county. So after that, I met a friend who was walking as well. Her name was Edna Laura. And she was, at the time, taking care of her mother, who was she was dying at the time, and I was caretaking for my daughter. So we would walk and talk and just got to talking about this project and she was the co-founder of this project.
Sisskin: Is there anybody else involved in this project except the two of you?
Mahan: Edna has since moved, unfortunately, but she was hugely instrumental in the roots of the project. But now I would say, we have a board. So it's me, Joey Miller, Scott Holland, Tom Patton, Kelly Hagan. Christian Wagley always helps us, too. So Kelly Hagan and I are the co-leaders right now. And she's actually a big environmental activist in the community. She lives in Sanders Beach, and she's been helping get the ACW cleanup started, which they recently received some funding. So it's exciting, but that's kind of our core group.
Sisskin: You mentioned you started in the city and now you plant in the county. Anywhere else?
Mahan: Just the city and the county. Our city project is … we still have room for applicants. Our county project is currently full.
Sisskin: How long have you been doing this?
Mahan: So we planted our park trees, like I mentioned, with the Councilman's discretionary fund in 2020, and the first East Pensacola Heights canopy restoration project was in 2022.
Sisskin: You've mentioned it in passing. But what are the benefits of planting trees?
Mahan: A lot of benefits. And I've learned about more of them. You know, I started out thinking a lot about the beauty and the shade because I was walking a lot, but I've learned since then just the huge environmental impact one tree can have. I'm thinking about stormwater mitigation. So that's a really big one. Just the amount of water the roots of a tree soak up is really astonishing. And also beautification, walkability. Cooling, cooling, passive cooling. Absolutely. And we really try. I might get into this later about we try to plant the right trees in the right place and think about passive cooling when we. When we plant our trees. Traffic calming is another benefit. Even increased property values. I've learned trees increase our property values.
Sisskin: That's great. How about, how does the city benefit from this?
Mahan: The city benefits. They have a canopy goal. So they have a goal for how many trees they want to have planted. I think it's by 2030. I'm not positive about that. But they cannot reach those goals without planting on residential property. It's just impossible if you look at the chart. So the city benefits because they are able to work towards their canopy goals. And it's also extremely efficient. The city spends a lot of money when they plant trees because they have to contract out the planting process, even the watering; they plant larger trees. So our project is extremely efficient. When you think about how much money, which is on average about $65 a tree, we're using.
Sisskin: How do people apply to get a tree? First of all, how many trees can people get?
Mahan: So each participant can receive up to three trees. And the way we have people apply, we have this great website now, which Michael DeNoia helped us with. So it's www.canopyrestorationproject.com. We have an online application. It's really easy. And each person can receive up to three trees.
Sisskin: What type of trees do you plant, and how do you choose a species?
Mahan: So we chose to plant right now; I think we have five different species that we plant one of them. So we have live oak, sand live oak, red maples, winged elms, and little gem magnolias. We've added a black gum too, but so far no one's taking us up on that. So I was just talking about how we needed to get the word out about the black gum because it's a beautiful tree. So we chose this species because we wanted native species. And part of that is, you know, they're suited to this harsh environment we have and the Panhandle. And also we wanted wind-resistant trees. So we really tried to find trees that were going to hold up to the massive storms that we have here.
Sisskin: So when do you plant, and what did you pick that time?
Mahan: We plant strategically after November, so probably around the months between November and, at the latest, February. And that's because we don't want to plant in the hurricane season. And we also have really large droughts. Trees do the most growing when they're in their dormant state or in the wintertime. So we want them to get as good of a start as possible. So we plant within those seasons, outside of the drought season, outside of the hurricane season.
Sisskin: The trees that you plant, how big are they, and where do you plant them? If somebody applies, how do you pick where they're going to be planted and what size are they?
Mahan: Yeah, that's a good question. So a lot of people, when they hear free trees, they think, oh, they're going to be tiny little trees. They're actually 15-gallon. And so that means they range from about 10 to 12 feet when they start out. That's a pretty big tree. We wanted to plant the biggest trees that a volunteer could work with because we do rely on volunteer labor for this project.
Sisskin: How do you pick where on the property the tree goes?
Mahan: Well, we chose the right-of-way. That's a good question. We chose the right of way because we wanted to benefit everyone. So backyard trees do benefit environmentally and they benefit the participant. But trees within the right-of-way or 20 feet beyond it, basically in front yards and side yards, are going to shade the road. They're going to provide a lot of environmental benefit to people walking by. So that's why we chose the right-of-way.
Sisskin: What are the participants who get trees expected to do? Do they do any planting? Do they just water them? What is expected of them?
Mahan: Participants are not required to plant their own tree. We have a team of volunteers that plants the tree, and we have a, so we start out with a, we call it planting day in November or December usually. And so we start out, someone from Panhandle Growers, which is our nursery, comes out and shows us how to properly plant a tree. And then our volunteers go out to their sites that have been assigned, and they plant the trees. Participants can plant their own tree if they would like to. They just have to attend the educational workshop is all we encourage them to if they'd like to or able to. And they are in charge of watering the tree. That's the big thing with this project is that, we give people a watering guide. It's very specific how much and when to water. We give them a five-gallon bucket and a lot of guidance. We will even harass people. We'll email them or text them when there's a big drought and say, “Hey, really watch out for your tree right now.” So they are in charge of caring for the tree. Even another important part is providing a barrier so that weed eaters and lawnmowers don't hit the tree because that will girdle it. It'll slowly suffocate the tree. So that's a really important thing. We also provide a plastic barrier around the tree. So that way we learned in our park project that trees can get hit by, like, weed eaters. And so it's really important to have that plastic barrier around the trunk of the tree, especially early on, so that they don't get hit.
Sisskin: How many trees have you planted so far?
Mahan: We have planted, let's see, 370. And that counts the county and city projects. We started working with the county a couple of years ago, or last year.
Sisskin: And how much money have you spent on this project so far?
Mahan: We've spent under $20,000, and we planted almost 400 trees.
Sisskin: And where did the money come from?
Mahan: So the money comes from the tree trust fund, which the city has one and the county has something similar. And what the tree trust fund is, is a pool of money that comes from mitigation fees and fines that contractors and developers pay when they cut down protected trees.
Sisskin: What kind of misconceptions have you heard about tree planting?
Mahan: The two biggest misconceptions I hear about tree planting are roots and pipes and trees falling on homes during storms. So to address the first one, yes, trees do seek out water, but if you. What they seek out is if you have damaged pipes and leaks; that's when you're really at a vulnerability for roots getting in your pipes. But updated PVC pipes are much more hardy. So if you don't have a leak, it's not something you need to worry about. And then the arborist actually checks every single location. We even call 811 to make sure we don't hit any lines like gas lines or anything like that. So we're really careful about the locations. They're not just planted anywhere. Every single location is checked by an expert. The other one that I hear, as I said, was about wind. And so, I've heard from various arborists and experts that the right kind of trees in the right place will actually protect your home from wind damage.
Sisskin: When you speak to people, when they get their trees, what does it mean to them to get these trees?
Mahan: That's been one really surprising, and great thing is just how much these trees do mean to people. So I have heard different stories. People will tell me, oh, I'm replacing a tree, a beloved tree that I lost during Ivan or Sally. One woman said, “Oh, this tree is getting delivered on my birthday, and it's just the best birthday present I could get.” We had another really moving story of a woman last year in the county. Her husband was dying of Parkinson's, and he wanted to plant this maple tree. And she posted pictures on Facebook of him watering the tree. He's since passed, but she says it's a reminder of their time together and how he would watch the tree grow. So, really beautiful stories that I heard; it's meant a lot. It really is.
Sisskin: It's really beautiful.
Mahan: Yeah.
Sisskin: How are they doing? What are the survival rates of these trees?
Mahan: They're doing really well. And I have to give full credit to the participants because they are coming through. They email me; they text Kelly when they have an issue. Hey, my tree has a dead branch, or there's a bug on it. And they're keeping up with their watering. I've heard of people who go on vacation who have asked their neighbor to water their trees for them. So our survival rates are in the 90s. So they're really good, especially if you compare it to a lot of the trees around the city that sometimes don't survive.
Sisskin: So you started off with about 10- to 15-foot trees in 2022. How about how big are they now?
Mahan: Let's see. So I didn't realize this, but live oaks actually grow up to two feet a year in their early life, so they're considered fast growers. So I would say that the ones in my neighborhood that were planted in 2022 are between 15 and 20 feet tall. The largest ones planted. They're really. It's amazing to me how quickly they've grown.
Sisskin: Wow. What kind of challenges did you have to overcome to do this project?
Mahan: I would say the biggest challenges that we've had are that we learned a lot from our park planting that I was talking about in 2020, because we planted trees in the park, and we learned that trees really need a lot of water, and that first year is really critical for their overall health. So the city's water trucks broke down at one point in my neighborhood; we, like, put a hose out there, and we were watering the trees to try to save them. So just getting trees to survive is something that we've really worked on. And also the challenges trees have early in their life. I've talked about how they can get hit with weed eaters and lawnmowers and landscapers. So just making sure people take care of their trees. But like I said, people have really come through on this, and it's been really nice to see.
Sisskin: What is your ultimate goal for this project?
Mahan: Our ultimate goals are, in a nutshell, to plant more trees. We would love to get to 1,000 in the next few years. We also have always talked about contracting our project out, so we'd love to be able to advise. The grant that we get is in the language of the tree ordinance, and it's $5,500. And it says on there that community organizations and neighborhood associations can apply. So we're getting this money, and so can other organizations that are interested. We're very happy to share our model because it has been really successful. We do have such high survival rates. So ultimately, we would love to spread the word about this project and have other organizations take part in the work that we're doing.
Sisskin: Have you thought about going into Santa Rosa County?
Mahan: We have. Someone asked me that the other day, and I don't know if they have a tree trust fund. I would have to ask, but right now we've just been sticking to Pensacola. Someone has asked me that a couple of times, actually, and we would be interested.
Siskind: Last question. What does the future hold for the canopy restoration project?
Mahan: We're in the process of applying for a second city grant. So we're planting more trees. So we're going to be able to double, pending the approval of this second grant with the city, we'll be able to double the amount of trees we're planting within the city this year. And we just hope that we continue to grow and to be able to plant more trees and have more environmental impact.
Sisskin: Chelsea, I really appreciate you coming in today. I've been speaking with Chelsea Mahan of the Canopy Restoration Project.
Mahan: Thank you. It was a pleasure.
Sisskin: And if there's a topic you've heard on the EcoMinute that you'd like me to cover in more detail, or an environmental issue you'd like to learn more about, email me at
