John Pennington, extension water quality educator for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, announced on April 15 that he has secured $1.6 million in grant funding to plant more than 166,000 native trees across six counties in central Arkansas over the next three and a half years.
The initiative is part of the Central Arkansas Tree Planting Project, which is funded by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The funds were allocated to Metroplan, a metropolitan planning organization for central Arkansas, which then contracted with the Cooperative Extension Service to distribute trees in Faulkner, Grant, Lonoke, Perry, Pulaski and Saline counties.
“This grant is increasing watershed management capacity as part of the Arkansas Watershed Steward program,” Pennington said. “Without the AWS, there would not be this project.” Eric Simon, crop, soil and environmental sciences program associate for the Division of Agriculture, said all distributed trees are native species and available as bare-root specimens with some potted options expected later. “Anybody and everybody can plant these trees,” Simon said. “Individuals, businesses, nonprofits and municipalities. We’re looking to partner with people who want them.”
Pennington emphasized that planting native trees serves several ecological purposes such as carbon sequestration and improving groundwater quality: “This project will provide a wide range of benefits…including large amounts of carbon sequestration [and] improved water quality in waterways.” He added that tree planting can help regulate rainfall absorption and reduce flash flooding risks while also improving property values through shade provision.
The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service receives funding through federal grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state appropriations according to its official website. The service supports social cohesion by offering programs tailored for rural as well as urban communities according to its official website. Program delivery is achieved via county offices and research centers throughout Arkansas according to its official website.
Pennington estimated that tens of thousands of new trees could sequester between 83,000 and 332,000 tons of carbon over fifty years. Anyone within designated counties may request free trees using an online order form or by contacting staff directly for larger orders; recipients must record planting locations and support tree survival efforts.
The Cooperative Extension Service operates in all 75 counties with specialists based on five university campuses according to its official website, aiming “to enhance agriculture, communities and families through application of research-backed practices” according to its official website. The agency is part of the University System’s Division of Agriculture according to its official website.
