OKI’s free tool to help spread trees throughout our region continues to grow in popularity.
In 2021, Tree for Me was developed as an aid for sustainability organizations, local communities, and residents to estimate the air quality and stormwater benefits of newly planted trees.
In simpler terms, it’s an app for tree lovers and tree distributors.
Tree for Me can be found here: https://www.oki.org/portfolio-items/tree-for-me/.
And it has gained national attention. Tree for Me received a national award by the National Association of Government Web Professionals, receiving its Excellence in Digital Innovation and Engagement Pinnacle Award.
It was also designed to be an educational tool and has been a portal for the Taking Root organization, the city of Covington, the city of Middletown, and the Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District for distributing trees to residents in various tree-planting programs. Many other communities have also taken advantage of Tree for Me.
400 trees were distributed to various communities in 2021. In 2022, trees distributed accounted for 250,000 gallons of rainfall and 40,000 gallons of storm runoff intercepted; and 115 pounds of air pollutants filtered, as a result. We anticipate tree distributions to have even a greater impact throughout 2023.
Other OKI Annual Report Highlights
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Program to Aid Data Gathering for OKI
OKI’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program continued to gain momentum during 2022.
GIS Highlights: Freight Plan Update, Urban Tree Canopy
Providing detailed, up-to-date Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data, analysis and web mapping applications for OKI’s many programs was a leading focus for our GIS Department during 2022.
Phase One of Freight Plan Complete, Phase Two Initiated
In 2022, OKI’s staff completed the first phase of a new regional freight plan.