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AMERICAN FORESTS Awards Grants to Reforest the Gulf Coast
The Home Depot Foundation Provides Major Support |
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WASHINGTON, DC (September 1, 2006) – A year after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, national conservation group, AMERICAN FORESTS, announces the recipients of Katrina ReLeaf Fund grants to restore tree canopy in recovering communities. AMERICAN FORESTS Katrina ReLeaf Fund Advisory Committee, made up of corporate, federal, state, and nonprofit representatives, selected four grant recipients: New Orleans City Park, Friends of Jefferson the Beautiful, Shreveport Green and Parkway Partners.
As communities rebuild, grant funds will help these green groups educate and involve residents, leverage funding from local and federal partners, and restore urban tree cover. Projects throughout the fall of 2006 and into 2007 will plant trees in public areas and play an important role in the recovery in New Orleans and other Gulf Coast communities.
Supported projects include replanting large trees along major roadways in downtown New Orleans, replanting 1,000 trees throughout the celebrated New Orleans City Park, supporting the expansion of a local green group’s nursery to direct its efforts at providing trees to Gulf Coast communities, and widespread replanting throughout Jefferson Parish.
“Local groups in the Katrina-affected area are taking action to restore their urban forests,” says AMERICAN FORESTS executive director, Deborah Gangloff. “This is a tremendous step towards restoring communities and one that American Forests is proud to support.” Major support for projects to replant native Gulf Coast trees, whose benefits are vital to restoring livability after Hurricane Katrina, is provided by The Home Depot Foundation and American Forests members. To contribute, visit https://www.americanforests.org/planttrees/
“The Home Depot Foundation is pleased to support these four outstanding projects and American Forests’ Katrina ReLeaf Fund,” said Kelly Caffarelli, executive director of The Home Depot Foundation. “Our foundation works with affordable housing and tree-planting organizations across the country to promote livable and healthy communities. By forming partnerships with these organizations, we are furthering our shared mission of creating stronger, more sustainable neighborhoods.”
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AMERICAN FORESTS’ mission is to grow a healthier world with trees. Through community-based initiatives we help people understand the many values of trees and restore forest ecosystems in urban and rural areas. Our work encompasses tree planting, urban forestry, environmental education, and community-based forestry.
The Home Depot Foundation was created in 2002 to further the community building goals of The Home Depot by providing additional resources to assist nonprofit organizations building affordable, efficient, and healthy homes throughout the United States and Canada. The Home Depot Foundation administers grant-making programs in the areas of “Affordable Housing, Built Responsibly” and “Healthy Community and Wildland Forests.” Since its formation, The Home Depot Foundation has granted more than $20 million to nonprofit and government organizations throughout North America.
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