TNC Louisiana plants 25 trees in West Park

Photo, story credited to: The Nature Conservancy Louisiana

DERIDDER — When Hurricane Laura roared ashore in 2020, the City of DeRidder found itself in the storm’s crosshairs. The Category 4 hurricane pummeled DeRidder with more than 100-mile-per-hour winds, dramatically altering the look and feel of the small city, home to nearly 10,000 people.

West Park, DeRidder’s largest community park, lost 300 trees. But that was just the start.

“We lost hundreds of trees in Laura, but then as time went along, we lost at least 200 more that were dying from damage caused by the hurricane,” said Tommy Landry, DeRidder’s Director of Public Works. “And they’re still dying today.”

Replacing that many trees is a tall order for a city of DeRidder’s size, but letting the urban canopy remain bare wasn’t an option, Landry said.

“I had been trying for about a couple of years to find grants and programs that could help us put trees back in,” he said. “It seemed like everywhere I went was a dead end except for one small grant we got from Keep Louisiana Beautiful.”

Then Landry, through the Louisiana Main Street Program, learned about The Nature Conservancy’s Louisiana Treesilience Program. Funded by a three-year grant from the USDA Forest Service, LA Treesilience is working to replace hundreds of damaged and lost trees in areas that were devastated by hurricanes in 2020 and 2021, and to create a front-line defense for urban areas in the face of severe weather. Treesilience works with local governments, non-profits and communities of all sizes, especially in underserved areas.

The program meets directly with community members to learn about their specific needs and desires to restore their urban tree canopy. Then, LA Treesilience not only funds the project, but also oversees all contracting and work to ensure its success. This approach means that the local community does not need to spend crucial staffing and resources to manage the grant.

In DeRidder’s West Park, LA Treesilience, managed by Amanda Takacs, community forest conservation coordinator for TNC Louisiana, made a $64,000 investment, planting 25 large cypress, willow oaks and live oak trees, all of which were 8 to 12 years old. It also removed 10 large dead or damaged trees, which could have been hazardous in the popular park, home to walking trails, a pickleball court, a swimming pool, ball fields and picnic areas, Landry said.

Of that $64,000 investment, DeRidder didn’t have to pay a dime.

Grown and transplanted by Wilkinson Tree Farm in Iowa, La., the new trees were planted with a high-tech spade truck, which looks like a giant claw machine from an arcade. Large enough to be an instant addition to the park’s tree canopy, the trees have impressed city residents, Landry said. “It’s awesome. I can’t tell you how many people have complimented the new trees,” he said. “Treesilience is a true blessing.”

Even before TNC started working with DeRidder, the city was putting its own funding toward restoring the hurricane-damaged municipal tree canopy. “We started budgeting to put in 25 trees a year, which is a hefty cost for our taxpayers, but we know what that investment will mean for the city,” he said. “We spent $50,000 for 25 trees; the trees were $2,000 each, each with a six-inch diameter base. We did not want to waste time with little bitty trees. We needed to get our shade canopy back in the park.”

Combined with LA Treesilience’s plantings, the city has added a total of 80 new trees in West Park in two years, including five provided by the Keep Louisiana Beautiful grant.

“The park is full of people every morning, with the walking trail and the pickleball court,” Landry said. “To bring children out to play, if there are no shade trees, they won’t stay long.

Takacs has worked closely with Landry through every step of the process. “She has been great to work with,” he said. “She lets you choose everything and then she makes it happen. It’s a big burden off of any city.”

Landry sees this work as a long-term investment in his community. “I am about to have my first grandchild,” he said, “and when she gets old enough to go to the park, I want her to know that her grandfather worked to plant these trees.”