Skip to content

Environment |
What a 1% increase in Hampton’s tree coverage could do for residents’ health

Trees line the road in the Olde Wythe neighborhood of Hampton, Virginia, Aug. 22 2024. Hampton wants to increase the city's tree canopy by 1% over the next 10 years. (Joshua Janney / Staff)
Trees line the road in the Olde Wythe neighborhood of Hampton, Virginia, Aug. 22 2024. Hampton wants to increase the city’s tree canopy by 1% over the next 10 years. (Joshua Janney / Staff)
Staff headshots at Expansive Center in downtown Norfolk, Virginia on Jan. 25, 2023. Josh Janney
PUBLISHED:

HAMPTON — City planners want to increase Hampton’s tree canopy by 1% — or almost 3,600 trees — over the next 10 years. It’s a goal they say would reduce flooding as additional trees would absorb more stormwater runoff, and it could provide more shade and help reduce urban heat island effects.

The goals are outlined in a “Natural Infrastructure Resiliency Plan” city staff presented Thursday to the Hampton Planning Commission. The plan provides near-term and long-term solutions for mapping and improving natural infrastructure — such as trees and forests, high-quality soils, parks and trails, dunes, marshes, waterways and wetlands.

Resiliency specialist Olivia Askew said these elements provide cost-effective stormwater management mitigation, protect and preserve water quality, preserve wildlife habitat and improve public health and quality of life.

The city’s first step would be to create an urban forestry program, which involves hiring an urban forester to oversee all tree care, maintenance, and planting on city properties and provide outreach and education to the public. Planners estimate the program would cost $280,000 annually.

“From staff’s perspective, the first thing that needs to be done is to establish that program,” Askew said. “So whether that’s through the [capital improvement plan], whether that’s through grant funding, we’re going to pursue all those options.”

The city now has 32% tree canopy coverage. Increasing that by 1% over the next decade would involve planting 358 trees annually, for a total cost of more than $1 million over the next 10 years.

A map showing potential planting areas for trees. The city hopes to increase its tree canopy by 1% over the next 10 years. Photo courtesy of the City of Hampton and the Green Infrastructure Center.
A map showing potential planting areas for trees. The city hopes to increase its tree canopy by 1% over the next 10 years. Photo courtesy of the City of Hampton and the Green Infrastructure Center.

The city’s existing tree canopy captures 69,774 pounds of nitrogen and 5,653 pounds of phosphorus per year. Increasing the tree canopy would increase shade and decrease heat, capture and absorb more water when it rains, capture more stormwater runoff and help absorb pollutants, Askew said.

“When phosphorus and nitrogen get into the water, it can become unswimmable and not healthy,” Askew said.

Planners estimate the 1% tree canopy increase will capture an additional 2,892 pounds a year of nitrogen and 236 pounds a year of phosphorus.

Askew said Hampton would aim to plant trees in low-income and disadvantaged neighborhoods, which have less tree coverage than the rest of the city and more frequently realize higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas. Citing a 2019 analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists, Hampton planners project 40 days of the year with temperatures above 100 degrees during the mid-century period of 2036-65.

The city’s resiliency plan was developed in partnership with the nonprofit firm Green Infrastructure Center. The recommendations are based in part on feedback from residents.

Some other goals include creating areas of native habitat at parks and schools, planting buffers along streams and creeks to filter and slow stormwater, natural shoreline protection and restoration, and revising the city code, design standards and landscape guidelines to support natural infrastructure. It also recommends creating community gardens and food forests to address food insecurity.

The City Council is expected to vote on the plan in the fall. Initiatives that require funding — such as increasing the tree canopy and the creation of an urban forestry program — would be voted on during the budget process next year.

During an open house community meeting this year, Hampton resident Robert Stumm said the plan was “a very positive step forward.” But he wished it went further, saying the tree canopy should increase by much more than 1%.

Resident Regina Mays praised the efforts to improve natural infrastructure, saying more green space was her main wish.

“More trees are better,” Mays said. “This is something that should have been going on a long time ago, and I’m just glad I’ve lived long enough to see the changes coming.”

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com