WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) -- The West Lafayette Tree Friends organization has launched an endowment fund.
The money will work as a safety net that can be used to help provide more trees to the city's streets and neighborhoods. According to Bryce Patz, who works as the city's neighborhood vitality leader, each tree typically costs around $450 to plant. That total includes labor costs for contractors.
Right now, the endowment sits at $200,000. That's thanks to a donation from John and Jo MacDonald who volunteered for the West Lafayette Tree Friends. John passed away last year.
Patz said the city is grateful for this generous donation from the couple.
"As budgets get tight especially in the world of Covid, we're not really going to see the effects of what that really means for our programs for a couple of years so this endowment is huge because it does help guarantee that we still have funds available," said Patz.
Patz said the trees they plant directly impact and improves water flow in the city.
"It's slowing down that water from entering our stormwater drains, which puts a strain on our system so imagine if we had no street trees what that means for our infrastructure itself so this is important and it's important why we need to continue to grow," said Patz.
West Lafayette Tree Friends has helped add trees to dozens of city neighborhoods through the years.
