Trunkline Magazine (Louisville Zoo) Trunkline Magazine: March 2017 | Page 12

MARCH & APRIL EVENTS Lou_Zoo_Trunkline_3_375_x_4_87_012317a.pdf 1 1/23/2017 March 18, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. THE LOUISVILLE LEAGUE OF MASCOTS DAY Spring has sprung at the Louisville Zoo. Join our friends from the Louisville League of Mascots as we celebrate with some zany fun. Characters will rotate throughout the day. Be sure to bring your camera! More information at LouisvilleZoo.org/ events From Mayor Greg Fischer Among many things, the Louis- ville Zoo is a monument to the im- portance of sustainability and good stewardship of the environment. It’s a place to refl ect on our chal- lenges, such as the need to expand our tree canopy. We need trees if we want to have a healthy place to live, learn, work and play. On hot sunny days, trees provide shade and help reduce the temperature of our downtown, which suffers dearly from the urban heat island effect. On rainy days, trees soak up moisture, keeping that water from fl owing into our combined sewer system. Trees help clean the air and take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. The 6.2 million trees in our city across all 400 square miles of Louisville — are just as vital as our roads and our bridges. A tree is a signifi cant contributor to our city’s infrastructure. Trees bring signifi cant value to our city and its citizens. For the past fi ve years, my ad- ministration has wrestled with what we knew was a problem — our declining tree canopy. We are losing about 54,000 trees a year. The American Forests organiza- tion recommends a tree canopy of 12 • Louisville Zoo Trunkline • Spring 2017 45 percent. It will take many years, decades even, to reach that per- centage. But we must start now. And this must be a true community initiative. We created the nonprofi t group TreesLouisville to support this impor- tant work. TreesLouisville is dedi- cated to raising money to plant and maintain trees — and engaging the public in encouraging tree plant- ings. Environmentally, trees provide better air quality, a reduction in our city’s heat island effect and a habi- tat for wildlife. We need your sup- port. Please, visit TreesLouisville.org to support our efforts, help spread the word and plant a tree. 10:06: