Danville, a city that has experienced rapid development in recent years, is working to balance its growth with social and environmental well-being. A new urban forestry campaign will emphasize factors such as green space, shade, flood protection and air quality, starting in neighborhoods that have historically been left out of such conversations.

Danville is one of the first cities in the state to participate in a Virginia Department of Forestry program to “regreen” urban areas.

A local committee is developing strategies to align this program with the city’s goals for continued growth and development.

Four cities in Virginia were selected to participate in the Community Forest Revitalization Program: Danville, Martinsville, Petersburg and Hopewell.

All of them were considered economically disadvantaged, although the Danville region has recently countered this image with an unprecedented level of growth and development.

Construction is taking place in many places in the city, including housing developments, new parks and the Caesars Virginia casino resort. Such construction projects often involve cutting down trees instead of planting them.

However, the city wants to align its growth goals with the tree campaign, says city gardener Jessica Smith.

“The goal is always to plant more trees than we remove each year,” Smith said.

Trees can be useful in built-up areas, for example for rainwater management and heat protection.

A mature canopy tree, such as an oak, can capture thousands of gallons of stormwater annually, according to the Green Infrastructure Center, a nonprofit that is partnering with Danville on the initiative.

GIC supports municipalities in the development, implementation and maintenance of green infrastructure. This term refers to environmental features that are intended to benefit the ecosystem.

The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Inflation Reduction Act and is free for selected cities.

The nonprofit will meet monthly with a local committee in Danville throughout the project, which will last approximately two years.

The committee is made up of representatives from organizations across the city, including the parks and recreation, public works and civic groups, Smith said.

The campaign is split into two phases, with the first phase revolving around planning, Smith said. The Danville committee has already met with representatives from the GIC to work on map creation.

They mapped the city’s pedestrian-friendly areas and its heat islands, which are areas that get hotter than others because they have more heat-absorbing surfaces and heat-generating activities, as well as less vegetation.

“The ultimate goal of the planning is to gather all possible information about this area so that we can develop a strategic plan for urban forestry,” Smith said.

The committee will meet next month to review the rules and regulations, she said.

“We can identify areas that we may not want to develop,” Smith said. “Or if we do develop, let’s start strengthening those other areas.”

In this context, GIC is reviewing the city’s policies regarding development and tree planting, says Jessica Huang, municipal forest planner at GIC.

“There are areas where regulations could probably be improved to achieve development that protects resources and preserves existing tree canopy,” Huang said. “For example, instead of clearing an area, policies should be put in place that preserve a certain percentage of trees.”

Revised tree planting ordinances could help the city council make decisions about whether to allow a particular type of development at a particular site, Smith said.

This type of strategic approach will allow Danville to continue to grow while better protecting its trees, she said.

The second phase will involve more “boots on the ground,” meaning actual tree planting, Smith said. “But it’s not just about planting trees. It’s also about seeing how healthy our tree canopy is.”

A healthy tree canopy can provide both ecological and social benefits, says Kendall Topping, community forester at GIC.

“Studies have shown that areas with fewer trees have more asthmatics,” Topping said.

Trees are also an important line of defense against extreme heat, Topping and Huang said.

“As the impacts of climate change become more severe, shade is becoming increasingly important throughout Danville,” the city said in a press release. “One of the goals of the program is to increase shade in the hottest areas of the city.”

By 2070, the number of days per year with temperatures above 35 degrees in Danville will increase from an average of eight to an average of 50, the press release said, citing a municipal climate study.

“It’s about public health, getting people outside and mitigating the impacts of climate change,” Topping said. “It’s also about making sure that the neighborhoods that need these services the most actually get them.”

When implementing the program in Danville, the focus will be specifically on underserved and disadvantaged neighborhoods.

And the need was taken into account in the community’s application process for this program, which was competitive, Huang said.

“Danville was prioritized because it has a larger census tract for disadvantaged populations,” she said.

Location was also considered in selecting the four cities, Smith said. The two “sister cities” were chosen together because the benefits are greater when neighboring communities prioritize urban forestry, she said.

Martinsville authorities did not respond to requests for interviews about the campaign.

Sometime next spring, the Danville committee will hold an open house to present its findings to the public. At that time, the group will also seek community input, which Smith said is an important part of the process.

“With citywide development looming, strategic planning of our urban forest is critical to sustaining growth in our community,” Smith said in the release.

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