Savannah lost a lot of trees in Hurricanes Matthew and Irma.
UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant is helping restore the lost greenspace in order to decrease flood risk and beautify barren space, while training Savannah residents in landscape design and infrastructure improvements.
The “Green Infrastructure to Green Jobs,” funded by the Southeast Sustainable Communities Fund, will create urban tree nurseries in low-lying, flood-prone neighborhoods in the city.
“We’ve been looking at how much Savannah’s urban tree nursery had been lost over the decades,” says Nick Deffley, sustainability director for the city of Savannah and lead on the project. “We were losing a lot of trees to development, some were just getting old, and we had two hurricanes in the last three years that took a toll as well.”
The hurricanes—Matthew in October 2016 and Irma in September 2017—caused significant damage to Savannah’s tree canopy, with Hurricane Matthew costing over $13 million in tree debris removal and unknown losses in water storage from mature trees. The City of Savannah owns over 350 flood-prone FEMA lots that are underutilized community assets. As coastal Georgia experiences extremes in weather, municipal governments are looking to green infrastructure, such as tree canopies, to improve their resilience to major storm events.
Deffley is working with a team of experts, including land-use and resiliency specialists at UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, to engage the members of the community in the project, helping them understand their risks and recognize the benefits of implementing green infrastructure, such as tree canopies.
Over the course of the project, more than 500 trees will be planted by trainees in the Landscape Management Apprenticeship Program, an innovative workforce development program that trains residents in arbor care, plant identification, installation and maintenance.
Twelve employees are now in the training program, all recruited through two events hosted by the city of Savannah and WorkSource Coastal, a federally funded program designed to assist coastal residents in job training and career placement.
“I’ve always stayed in a box as far as administrative work, and I just wanted to branch out,” says Ni’Aisha Banks, 27, who has three children and is pregnant with a fourth.
Ni’Aisha Banks (left) helps her fellow trainees install an irrigation system at a planting site.
Banks is studying business administration at Savannah Technical College and plans to own her own business one day. She decided to sign up for the landscape management program because she wanted to try something new. After two months in the program, she’s able to help her peers install an irrigation system at a planting site in downtown Savannah.
It’s something I never imagined myself doing. Since I’ve been a part of this program, I’ve learned so much. It makes me want to beautify my community. – Ni’Aisha Banks
In December, the trainees attended a four-day training that was modeled after the Georgia Certified Landscape Professional program, developed by UGA Cooperative Extension’s Center for Urban Agriculture. They heard from guest speakers with expertise in green infrastructure and landscaping, and attended a field trip to the UGA Botanical Garden where they practiced planting trees and installing irrigation systems.
UGA Cooperative Extension specialists trained participants in fundamental landscaping skills, including plant ID, planting practices and maintenance.
The experience exposed them to green industry careers and helped light the pathway to employment and advancement through skill development and professional certification.
During the year-long program, Deffley will guide the participants through more than 200 hours of hands-on training in landscape maintenance. They’ll also learn how to set up an email account, build a resume and create business cards, all tools that will help them be job ready.
“The whole intent is to not only introduce all of these folks to potential employers in this field, but it’s to really do everything we can to get them placed in jobs that are much more sustaining,” says Deffley.
All of the trainees in the program live in neighborhoods where some of the plantings will take place. Not only are they obtaining new skills that are vital to implementing green infrastructure in Savannah, but they are educating others in the community about the project.
Robert Hartwell is one of 12 participants in the Green Infrastructure to Green Jobs training program.
“We’re out here three days a week, and every day people ask, ‘what are you guys doing?’” says Robert Hartwell, who is also participating in the landscaping program. “People need to know about this stuff, you know? “It starts with the community.”’
Like Banks, 24-year-old Hartwell wants to own his own business. He plans to apply his new landscaping skills in his uncle’s backyard, helping him raise his walkway and put in a flower bed, before tackling his own lawn.
“I’m building my portfolio,” he says. “You’ve got to start somewhere, right?”
Additional project partners include the Savannah Tree Foundation, Victory Gardens, Work Source Georgia and the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission. The Kendeda Fund is also providing support for the initiative.
Writer: Emily Woodward
