Dilworth's Share the Shade tree fundraiser has raised money to plant more street trees throughout Dilworth. The campaign typically runs for 4 weeks in November and early December. A portion - 20 percent - of what we raise works toward equity by supporting the tree canopy of neighbors living in a nearby neighborhood with fewer funding resources.  

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A bit of background:

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Street trees are the public trees typically between the street and the sidewalk which are managed by the City of Charlotte. City Arborists are charged with managing these trees - for trimming the trees, removing diseased/damaged trees, and for selecting and planting new trees. The City is also responsible for funding all of these projects. However, with tight budgets and stretched resources, funding falls short for caring for existing trees and for replacing all lost trees.

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Dilworth had lost a worrisome percentage of our tree canopy over the past decade - due to trees aging out, storms, disease and development pressures.

 

So, for the past 4 years, DCA’s Tree Canopy Committee has raised funds to supplement the City’s street tree plantings in Dilworth. Thanks to the generosity of  hundreds of neighbors, we were able to plant almost 125 good sized street trees throughout Dilworth. On top of that, the City of Charlotte planted almost 190 street trees in the neighborhood over the past 4 years. Combined we added a total of more than 300 new trees to our canopy. 

 

In the fall of 2023, the Tree Canopy Committee performed a street tree mapping exercise to identify places where street trees could be planted or replanted. The results of that survey showed that efforts over the past few years had significantly reduced the gaps in our street canopy.