Bay Village Tree Conservancy: Saving Our Canopy One Tree at a Time

Bay Village Tree Conservancy and Ohio Landscape Association partner in a community-wide effort with an estimated retail value of $20,000

On Friday, October 23, Ohio Landscape Members from across Northeast Ohio came together in Bay Village for a common purpose: planting 30 new canopy trees throughout the community.

The effort was the result of an extraordinary collaboration between The Bay Village Tree Conservancy (BVTC) and the Ohio Landscape Association (OLA). The Bay Village Tree Conservancy is a volunteer-led nonprofit dedicated to preserving and restoring Bay Village’s tree canopy through education, community engagement, and action. Recognizing the importance of mature trees to the character, health, and environmental well-being of the community, BVTC works to raise awareness of tree loss and encourage residents to take an active role in maintaining and replenishing the city’s tree canopy, one yard at a time.

Ten Ohio Landscape Association member businesses joined the Conservancy in that mission, contributing 30 trees, planting materials, equipment, and professional labor in a community-wide effort with an estimated retail value of approximately $20,000.

The effort also received support from Bay Village city leadership. Dwight A. Clark, president of Bay Village City Council, and Peter J. Winzig, council member-at-large, attended the event. Clark addressed the assembled volunteers and landscape professionals, thanking them on behalf of the city for their contributions. He also recognized and thanked the Bay Village Tree Conservancy for its ongoing efforts to preserve and restore the community’s tree canopy.

The partnership began with Brian Knauer of The Pattie Group, discussed the Conservancy’s tree-planting initiative with OLA’s Outreach Committee. Recognizing an opportunity to support a community where many of its member businesses work, the association embraced the idea and rallied its members around a shared goal: helping restore Bay Village’s aging tree canopy.

For the past two years, the Bay Village Tree Conservancy has organized biannual tree sales, giving residents an opportunity to purchase larger, canopy-scale trees at an affordable price. At $327 per tree, the program makes sizable trees accessible to homeowners while helping address the ongoing loss of mature trees throughout the community. Offerings have included 10- to 12-foot varieties of oak, London plane, sycamore, and other large-growing shade trees. By relying on volunteers to handle planting, BVTC has been able to keep the cost to residents limited to the actual price of the trees and necessary materials. By comparison, purchasing a tree of this size with supplies and professional installation could cost as much as $700.

Bay Village’s tree canopy has been affected by a combination of factors, including the natural aging of mature trees, severe storms, disease, invasive pests such as emerald ash borer, and the loss of established trees during residential redevelopment. In some cases, healthy trees are also taken down because of homeowner concerns about potential damage, maintenance, or future problems, further contributing to the collective loss of valuable canopy.

Traditionally, BVTC volunteers have coordinated and handled the planting of trees purchased through the program. This time, however, the OLA and its participating members took the effort a significant step further, bringing not only the trees and materials but also professional crews, equipment, and the expertise to complete the plantings.

The OLA members supplied all 30 trees, along with soil, stakes, tree guards, watering bags, tie-downs, and other necessary planting materials. Multiple professional crews then volunteered their time and expertise to plant the trees at the homes of participating Bay Village residents. When the value of the trees, materials, supplies, equipment, and professional installation is considered at retail rates, the total contribution is estimated at approximately $20,000.

Residents continued to purchase their trees through the Conservancy’s program at $327 each, with proceeds going directly to BVTC to support future tree-planting initiatives and community programs. The OLA’s substantial in-kind contribution made it possible to put 30 additional canopy trees in the ground while helping the Conservancy generate funds to continue its work.

For Tim Doyle, one of three founders of the Bay Village Tree Conservancy, along with John House and John Hastings, the collaboration represents exactly the kind of community involvement needed to make a lasting difference.

“When we started the tree sale program, our goal was to make larger canopy trees available to more Bay Village residents and give our community a practical way to replace what we’ve lost. Having the landscape industry come together to take this effort on, from providing the trees and materials to actually planting them, is tremendous. It’s an investment in the future of Bay Village,” said Doyle.

Brandon Barker of J. Barker Landscaping Company and OLA Board President, along with Patty Lampert, OLA’s Executive Director, Matt Malone of Kurtz Bros., and Garrett McNeill of McNeill & Sons Tree Service helped support the initiative. Matt and Garrett are OLA Board Members and Community Outreach Co-Chairs.

For Knauer, the partnership was an opportunity to connect the landscape industry with a community effort already making a difference.

“Bay Village was a natural fit for this kind of partnership. The Tree Conservancy already had an established program and a clear mission, and we saw an opportunity for our industry to come together and contribute in a meaningful way. It was exciting to see so many companies step up and put their resources and expertise behind a common goal,” said Knauer.

The project also represents a pilot for future Ohio Landscape Association community outreach efforts throughout the region. While future projects may take different forms and extend beyond tree planting, the association sees value in connecting its member businesses with communities and opportunities where their collective knowledge and resources can make a difference.

“We’re always looking for meaningful ways to connect our members with the communities they serve. It’s about enhancing landscapes and enriching communities. This project showed what is possible when businesses come together around a shared purpose. We hope this is the beginning of more opportunities to engage with communities throughout the area,” said Lampert.

The impact is already becoming visible throughout Bay Village. In September, BVTC volunteers planted approximately 10 trees as part of the Conservancy’s ongoing efforts. The October 23 collaboration with the Ohio Landscape Association added another 30, bringing the fall planting total to approximately 40 trees. Together, these efforts bring the total number of canopy trees planted through BVTC’s volunteers and community partners to more than 130.

The Conservancy has set an ambitious goal of planting 1,000 canopy trees throughout Bay Village over the next 10 years. Partnerships like this one can help make that goal increasingly achievable by bringing additional resources, professional expertise, and manpower to the effort.

BVTC’s distinctive yard signs are also beginning to pop up throughout the city, identifying planting locations and helping raise awareness of the initiative. Each sign includes a QR code that allows residents to make a donation directly to the Conservancy.

Those contributions help BVTC continue offering canopy-scale trees at an affordable cost and support future planting efforts. Residents can also visit bvtrees.org to donate or sign up for the spring tree sale.

Bay Village is fortunate to have a rich legacy of mature trees. Preserving that legacy, however, requires ongoing investment, education, and participation from the entire community.

The October 23 collaboration demonstrated what can happen when a grassroots community organization and an established professional association bring their resources together. Thirty new trees are now in the ground, and the partnership has planted something else as well: an opportunity for continued community collaboration and a healthier canopy for generations to come.

Participating OLA Companies and Partners: • Ground Works Land Design • J. Barker Landscaping Company • Kurtz Bros. • McNeill & Sons Tree Service, LLC • Rooted Landscape Design, LLC • SiteOne Landscape Supply • Sweet Peet • The Pattie Group • Yardmaster • Willoway Nurseries, Inc.

Click here for more photos.