Lorain offering memorial trees in city parks

LORAIN — Lorain's tree canopy will provide more than just shade to future visitors. Under a new city program, residents can request a tree be planted in any city park in their loved one's honor through the Parks Department's Living Legacy program. Memorial trees cost $150. A local arborist will select the type of tree from native, nonflowering varieties like oaks or sugar maples, Public Property Manager Lori Garcia said. The Living Legacy program addresses a need for trees in the city, especially in its oldest and largest parks, above and beyond what the Parks Department already plans to plant. In 2017, a survey by an Ohio Department of Natural Resources arborist determined 109 of Oakwood Park's 300 trees were high risk and needed to be removed, but public outcry delayed it. After last year's August storms toppled or damaged more than 100 of the 64-acre park's trees, the city set out to replace the felled trees. It already has planted 100 new trees in Oakwood and plans to plant another by next spring, Garcia said. The trees planted through the Living Legacy program would be beyond that 200 minimum in Oakwood Park, she said. "I'm hoping we get a lot," Garcia said of the memorial program. "And I hope it's continuing — if we could get even 25 trees a year, I think that would be wonderful." Trees will be planted in the spring and fall, depending on the species of tree, she said. Families who pay for a tree through the legacy program will be notified when their loved one's tree is being planted, and those trees will have a placard noting the person it is memorializing. She said Oakwood and Central parks have the greatest needs for trees as they are some of the largest parks in the city with the oldest foliage. For more information, or to purchase a tree, contact the Parks Department at (440) 204-2550. Trees may be paid for via cash, check or credit card. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.