SU Ag Center Receives $2 Million Grant to Establish Urban & Community Tree Nursery for Urban Greening in the State’s Disadvantaged Communities
Baton Rouge, La. – The Southern University Ag Center has been awarded a $2 Million grant to build an “Urban and Community Tree Nursey (UCTN) to Provide Planting Stocks for Urban Greening in Disadvantaged Communities in Louisiana.”
The grant, which began on Aug. 1, 2024, is funded by the USDA Forest Service Investment Recovery Act Grant Program and administrated through the 1890 Foundation.
An official announcement of receipt of the grant was made on Nov. 9, 2024, during a check presentation in A.W. Mumford Stadium as a part of the football game’s halftime show. The game was also the concluding event for the Southern University Ag Center’s Ag Week.
Several Southern University and Forest Service officials participated in the check presentation. These individuals included Southern University Ag Center Chancellor and Dean of the College of Agricultural, Human and Environmental Sciences (CAHES) Dr. Orlando F. McMeans, Southern University System President Dennis Shields, SU Ag Center Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement and External Relations Dr. Katara Williams, Ag Center Director of Advancement Robert Easley, Jr., CAHES Professor and Master’s Degree Program Leader of Urban Forestry and SU Ag Center Research Scientist Dr. Yadong Qi, CAHES Professor of Urban Forestry and Ecophysiology and Climate Change Dr. Zhu Ning, and Ag Center Project Coordinator of Urban Forestry, Environment, and Natural Resources Dr. Christiean Smith. The United States Forest Service representatives present were Assistant Director (Acting), Urban & Community Forestry Dr. Quintaniay Holifield, Public Affairs, Recreation, Heritage and Administration Staff Officer at Kisatchie National Forest Jim Caldwell, Supervisory Forester Dr. Brittany Benjamin, and Louisiana Forestry Association Executive Director Buck Vandersteen.
The grant is a collaborative project between the Southern University Ag Center, the 1890 Foundation, the U.S. Forest Service, and various local and state entities. The project will provide job opportunities, community outreach, and student experiences in Urban and Community Forestry. The grant will also support undergraduate and graduate students and community participants by preparing the next generation of professionals and community leaders for urban greening with more resilient tree canopies. This grant will significantly enhance the SU Ag Center’s capability to serve its clientele, particularly those residing in disadvantaged communities.
The grant will operate for four years and will include the following tasks:
- Establish a UCTN to provide planting stocks for urban greening in disadvantaged communities in Louisiana. The UCTN will be located within the SU Ag Center’s landmass in the northern part of the City of Baton Rouge. According to the Justice40 Tracts Map, this area is classified as a disadvantaged community. The UCNT will occupy about 30 acres of land and cultivate nearly 5,000 trees of more than 30 native urban tree species. The nursery will provide planting stocks for long-term urban and community tree greening projects and grow 500 containerized large trees for short-term and immediate urban planting needs in disadvantaged communities in the state.
- The UCTN will be used as a vehicle to carry out urban and community forestry skill training for Southern University Urban Forestry and Agricultural undergraduate majors and graduate students, minority participants, and volunteers from disadvantaged communities. The skill training will include tree identification, site preparation and maintenance, tree planting, monitoring tree growth and development, pruning and associated arboriculture practices, irrigation, fertilization, weed control, invasive species management, integrated pest management, community outreach, and tree transplanting.
- The SU Ag Center will use the UCTN as an Urban and Community Forestry activity site, to host semi-annual field days, educational field trips for CAHES students and K-12 schools in disadvantaged communities, and Urban Forestry workshops to increase Urban Forestry awareness and availability of planting stocks for urban greening. The project will endeavor to reach out to communities in all 64 parishes of the state to identify and prioritize the most disadvantaged communities, to invite them to visit the UCTN, to learn about the availability of tree planting stocks, the benefit of the trees, and techniques for tree planting and maintenance.
Tree planting and equal access to green space are the long-term solutions to healthy and sustainable communities. Tree canopies provide many ecological, environmental, and social benefits to society.
Dr. Yadong Qi is the grant’s Project Director. Co-project directors include Dr. Veronica Manrique, CAHES Associate Professor of Entomology and Invasive Species, Dr. Vanessa Ferchaud, SU Ag Center Research Assistant Professor of Urban Forestry, and various faculty and staff in CAHES and the SU Ag Center.
For additional information on the Urban and Community Tree Nursey to Provide Planting Stocks for Urban Greening in Disadvantaged Communities in Louisiana grant contact, Dr. Qi, at yadong.qi@sus.edu.