City’s Ludlow Park gets grant funding for new trees and bench
NORWALK — A grant award from the National Environmental Education Foundation will allow for the planting of two new trees and the purchase of a new bench for Ludlow Park.
The Norwalk Tree Advisory Committee applied for the grant in late 2020 and received word that it was selected in March, Tree Advisory Committee Chair and professor of environmental studies at Norwalk Community College Erica Kipp said.
The $2,500 grant will facilitate the purchase and planting of two trees and installation of an additional bench at the park later this spring during the city’s typical tree-planting season, Kipp said.
“Anything we can do to help improve our tree canopy, especially at our much used and much loved parks, is a real win for the entire community,” Mayor Harry Rilling said. “I appreciate the
Tree Advisory Committee for all their hard work to protect and expand our tree canopy, and thank Erica Kipp for helping bring this project to Norwalk.”
The grant was part of the National Environmental Education Foundation’s 2021 Restoration and Resilience COVID-19 Recovery Fund.
“We get such good pricing on the trees because we use the same company and pre-dig the holes
ourselves, so we can put in more than would normally be at that price-point,” Kipp said. “If the average person was getting a tree it would be close to $800 or $850 a tree. We can get more for less.”
The trees will be placed on the edge of the park, offering a buffer from the Gregory Boulevard, Kipp said. The exact tree species has yet to be decided, but Kipp said she intends to get a species native to the area.
“It really depends what they have, what looks healthy, what’s in our pricepoint,” Kipp said.
Following the trees’ planting, a special ribboncutting ceremony will be held at the park, according to a city statement.