The Tree For Every Delawarean Initiative - or TEDI - encourages tree-planting projects to help improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gasses, while enhancing urban greenspaces.
And it offers grants to private landowners, homeowners associations, non-governmental organizations,schools,and more to plant trees.
And this year - for the time - municipalities can apply for funding, according to Beth Krumrine, a Principal Planner with DNREC’s Division of Climate Coastal and Energy.
“We are hearing the need from towns and counties and other governments, conservation districts that they want to be able to do larger restoration projects, and so that’s why we’re shifting into the phase of pulling them on, so that they can plant an area in their town, for example, or some open space that they may have.”
Funding requests can include multiple projects and may range from $20,000 to $90,000.
Applications must be submitted to DNREC no later than Monday, Oct. 23.
TEDI also encourages individuals and families to plant trees and logging the info on the TEDI website (de.gov/tedi).
Krumrine adds, “...and it’s not required, but it’s a way for the public to participate. You can enter your tree, where you planted it, what was the species, and what was the reason that you planted your tree. You can snake it as simple as you want or add some photos and make it more interesting, but it definitely is a way to participate.”
Since the program launched in November 2021, approximately 80,000 trees have been planted with support from TEDI funds.
Combined with efforts through other funding sources as well as community and individual plantings, more than 180,000 trees have been planted toward the TEDI goal of 1 million.
