CHARLESTON, W.Va. –The City of Charleston’s Municipal Beautification Commission is aiming to enhance the city’s beauty one tree at a time.
The commission, along with city officials, held a tree-planting ceremony in front of City Hall on Monday morning to officially kick off the Appalachian Spring Project. As part of the event, they planted two trees at City Hall. The project aims to plant 1,000 flowering trees throughout Charleston’s neighborhoods, along Kanawha Boulevard, and on Magic Island.
Commission Chair Anna Forbes said that planting the trees in front of City Hall demonstrates the importance of the project to the city.
“So, I guess it was kind of symbolic to have it tree number one and tree number two right there in front of City Hall because this is an important city project,” she said.
Forbes said that, in addition to the two trees at City Hall, six have been planted at Ruffner Park and five at the base of West Virginia International Yeager Airport on Greenbrier Street.
She explained that the idea originated a few years ago, when she and other commission members were appointed by Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin. However, she said it was former Wheeling Mayor John Lipphardt and his daughter, Lisa Reed, who helped jumpstart the project after attending a commission meeting in the spring of 2024.
Forbes said that Reed had just returned from Washington, D.C., and suggested it would be great if Charleston hosted a flowering tree festival like the one in D.C.
She said it was a powerful moment that gave them the push they needed to get the project underway.
“It was great because it felt like a moment in democracy, where you got people coming into a government entity and saying we got an idea and really being the sparkplug to make this project take off,” Forbes said.
And while the project is intended to help beautify the city, Forbes explained that it’s part of a more strategic approach to beautification.
“That aims to not only beautify our beautiful city, but also really to generate economic development,” she said. “Build businesses through tourism, bring in tourists’ dollars, really spur community growth, and reverse the population loss that we’ve had over the past couple of decades,” she said.
Forbes said that, with so many trees to plant, a variety of species will be planted throughout the city.
“There’ll be other trees besides flowering trees just because we want to maintain a good urban ecosystem not just have one type of trees, so there’ll be a mix of different species,” she said.
Forbes also mentioned the Appalachian Spring Fund, created by the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, which allows people to donate and support the project.
The project is expected to span approximately three years.