75,000 more trees coming to Detroit

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Detroit is about to get a lot more green with the addition of 75,000 trees incoming to the city. 

Over the next five years, money from the Inflation Reduction Act will fund the planting of greenery in neighborhoods across the city. For The Greening of Detroit which advocates for and participates in the planting of foliage, it's the biggest investment ever.

"You'll see us all over the city now doing this work on a larger scale," said Lionel Bradford, the president of the group. 

The $33 million investment will go toward 11 environmental projects around the state with the goal of beautifying the city and expanding green infrastructure in Southeast Michigan.

"We know it’s more than planting trees, it’s about people, it’s about investing in quality of life of all our communities, it’s about confronting the climate crisis," said U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabbenow. "I bet if we could go sit under one of these trees over there you would feel a little better, I know I would."

That might have been because of the unseasonably warm fall day on Friday. 

But with concerns of strange seasonal trends, the planting of trees isn't just about public health and cleansing the environment, but chipping away at the fossil fuels we produce and they suck up.

"Trees are the most cost-effective way to mitigate climate change and so you’re seeing now from a federal level, from a state level, down to the city here of Detroit, folks are getting in line in terms of how we’re going to handle the environment," said Bradford.

Bradford was in a particularly good mood after the announcement. The funding will do more than just increase capacity to plant more trees he said. 

It will "train more adults with barriers to employment, provide more jobs, train more youth, employ more youth, and so you’ll see us all over the city now doing this work on a larger scale," he said.