NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans is getting a little greener.
A group called Sustaining Our Urban Landscape, (SOUL) unveiled its master design for the reforestation of Orleans Parish.
In the last six years, SOUL's planted 7,200 trees, but beginning in 2026, they hope to plant 7,000 trees a year for 25 years.
“We've lost 200,000 trees in Katrina. That's a lot of trees. We are now least among cities in the U.S. of comparable size in terms of canopy coverage of trees. Not good, and not surprisingly we are first in terms of the heat island effect. If you map the most flood-prone, low lying, hottest, poorest, and treeless areas in New Orleans, they're the same,” Andreas Merkl, Chairman of SOUL’s board of directors said.
The design plan is geared towards flood control, cooling and shading, and quality of life through beautiful landscaping.
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