Stacy Bare understands the power of green space. As the executive director of Friends of Grand Rapids Parks, he’s leading the effort to make sure there are trails within 10 blocks of every resident in Grand Rapids.
"We can create a model for the rest of the region. But we have to start thinking more regionally,” says Bare, who is working with the city of Grand Rapids, Kent County, and nonprofits to move this idea forward.
A key part of this plan is building up the city’s forest. In the fall, the outdoors nonprofit received a $5 million grant as part of the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service $1.5 billion program to plant and maintain trees, combat extreme heat and climate change, and improve access to nature.
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Stacy Bare
The original grant request Friends of Grand Rapids Parks (FGRP) wrote would have funded nearly 16,000 trees, habitat restoration, and 15 miles of trails throughout Grand Rapids. The $5 million they received however, will allow for the planting of 5,000 plus habitat restoration in about 300 acres of parks to primarily increase equity in urban tree canopy coverage and enhance the city’s parks and urban forests. The grant funding represents about one third of the overall need Bare and his team have identified.
Bare says the grant is critical in solving a multi-generational problem in Grand Rapids that has left too few trees in too many neighborhoods, resulting in excessive heat islands, poor air quality, and increased mental health challenges.
“We know historically, there's a lack of trees, often based on redlining and exploitation in certain neighborhoods,” says Bare. “And trees are the single easiest thing we can do to lift mental and physical health benefits across the board. We can raise the mental health floor through the planting of trees. The next thing is getting people out in those trees and moving around.”
FGRP is working to plant trees where trees haven’t been. There are three major corridors in the city, where because of redlining and historic discrimination not enough trees have been planted: the Cesar Chavez/Grandville Avenue corridor, the South Division corridor and the near West Side.
The grant requires a local match, with two-thirds of the trees planted in high-priority sites in the public right-of-way, along with 5,000 private tree plantings. The city has more than 600 acres of forest spread out throughout its 72-plus parks.
Issues of equity
FGRP’s work is rooted in equity and primarily focused on neighborhoods with Tree Equity Scores of 70 or lower, where residents with lower average incomes are disadvantaged by inequitable urban tree canopy coverage. Scores are based on tree canopy, surface temperature, income, employment, race, age, language, and health factors. These scores target tree-planting and parks investment toward communities living on low incomes, communities of color, and all those disproportionately affected by extreme heat, pollution, and other environmental hazards.
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Friends of Grand Rapids Parks volunteers plant trees.
“We have an incredible opportunity with this grant to correct a historic injustice in Grand Rapids by planting thousands of trees and committing to habitat restoration in the more than 3-500 acres of forest that we have in the same neighborhoods where we will be planting for better control of invasive species,” says Bare. “It’s not just stormwater management, it's not just air quality improvement, it adds up to real and documented physical and mental health benefits for the next 100 years in Grand Rapids. That is what we are doing when we plant trees.”
There was an 18-degree temperature difference between the most shaded and the least shaded areas of Grand Rapids, Bare says. That can impact the quality of life on a hot day.
Trees, whether in a yard or along the boulevard, are often the first opportunity that people have for exposure to nature.
Getting people outside
Bare is also focused on galvanizing a movement to invest in infrastructure to build and maintain more trails, and to recognize the power the outdoors has for Grand Rapids to maintain and grow a position of excellence and leadership.
Trees are a vital part of thriving communities, he says.
“There's a lot of things people can do,” says Bare. “The easiest thing is people can volunteer their time or their resources. Get out on trails, help build trails, use the trails, talk to community members and community leaders. And more than anything, go outside and invite somebody with you.”
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Stacy Bare speaks at a Friends of Grand Rapids Parks event.
Another initiative of Friends of Grand Rapids Parks is to build 15 miles of new, natural surface or dirttrails that are fully accessible to anyone who uses a wheelchair or has other mobility issues. Bare says accessible trails benefit everyone because they are often a bit wider with wider turns.
“Most people have no idea if they're on an accessible trail or not until they need that accessibility. We can widen the trail just a little bit, and it benefits all trail users,” Bare says. “If we can make sure that it's wide enough that somebody who maybe is using a walker or a double cane system feels comfortable, everybody benefits from that. We create places that are specifically for a population that has been dramatically underserved, and again, everybody will be able to use that.”
“Everything we want is universal, because then nobody feels like they're a burden, or that they're having to do something different or that their friends are making a different decision because of their chair or whatever.”
‘Bringing the vision’
Bare was recruited from Utah two years ago to lead Friends of Grand Rapids Parks. The Iraq War veteran, who says he found peace and community in the outdoors when he came home from his service, believes getting outside isn't just nice, but necessary for a good life.
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Stacy Bare with Luis Benitez, Chief Impact Officer for the Trust for Public Land, who spoke at Friends of Grand Rapids Parks event in February.
He has served as the director of Sierra Club Outdoors and was named the 2014 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. He was featured in the documentary
”Adventure Not War” as one of three U.S. veterans who traveled back into the mountains of Iraq on a mission to heal wounds and experience the country and its culture without the shadow of war.
Related: Outdoor industry thought leader Luis Benitez sees economic potential in rural Michigan
“Stacy is better known in the outdoor industry outside of Michigan than he is here,” says Brad Garmon, senior strategic adviser and executive director of the Michigan Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, which is part of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. “I think all of Michigan can learn from what he's doing and the approach he's taking. He’s involving leaders from all around the state and tying into a larger conversation about the outdoor economy.
“Stacy is bringing the vision he has not only for Grand Rapids but Michigan, which is really good. He's the right guy to help deliver it, so we're lucky to have him.”
Photos by Shandra Martinez and courtesy of Friends of Grand Rapids Parks.