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: