Bristol Awarded More Than $113K to Plant Trees On Public Land

BRISTOL, RI — The Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank recently awarded Bristol with $113,225 to help pay for the town's urban forest municipal resilience project.

Town officials said the project involves the purchase of 238 trees to be planted on public properties and along street rights- of-way in three of Bristol's priority watersheds. They include:

• Silver Creek
• Tanyard Brook
• Mt. Hope Bay.

Town officials identified tree plantings for stormwater mitigation as a priority action item in the Town of Bristol Municipal Resilience Program Community Resilience Workshop Summary of Findings of 2020.

Trees provide benefits that address environmental impacts, including climate change, stormwater management, air pollutant removal, and mitigating heat islands, town officials said.

To help the town with planning for Bristol’s Urban Forest, the RI Department of Environmental Management who provided funding for the Green Infrastructure Center (GIC) will assist with the creation of a tree management plan.

The tree planting program is expected to begin in Spring 2024.

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