Lincoln nonprofit sounding the alarm about tree canopy loss in Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Across Nebraska, one organization is raising a red flag about tree canopy loss.

Plant Nebraska, a local nonprofit that works to improve landscaping and environments, is spreading the word about the need for trees.

“With Nebraska really leading the way in community tree canopy loss, we really need a lot of people out there planting,” said Hanna Pinneo, the Executive Director.

According to treecanopy.us, Nebraska has lost 6.5% of its tree canopy in the last 10 years, with 1.1% of that loss occurring in the last year.

That’s equivalent to 4,914 acres.

“The tree canopy has changed in our communities,” Pinneo said. “Lots of trees are gone, or when you look around, they look sickly. We all know how that makes us feel, both emotionally and physically. But we’ll also continue to experience high levels of heat in our communities as climate change becomes more prevalent. Trees are something that really helps cool us down, and provide us with a lot of benefits to ourselves and ecosystems.”

Plant Nebraska shared a video on how to plant a tree to inspire others across Lincoln to help remedy the loss of tree canopy.

“Trees play a significant part in our lives, and it’s hard as they go away to notice that, to remember that,” Pinneo said. “But once they’re gone, you really feel it. We just need to keep planting trees. They take a long time to grow up, but the more trees we plant for future generations, the better.”