Delta Institute is partnering with the Hammond Parks and Recreation Department to plant 200 trees in the City’s Third District and historic Harrison Park. We are also developing a tree inventory and urban forestry management plan for the City, benefitting environmental and public health outcomes for the City’s 77,000 residents, who have long been impacted by heavy industrialization and air pollution.
Why Our Work Is Needed
Northwest Indiana is one of the most industrialized regions in the United States, home to a concentration of manufacturing plants, steel mills, and refineries. The region is crisscrossed by a dense network of highways, active industrial sites, and railroads, which contribute significantly to air and noise pollution, leading to a substantial decrease in the overall tree canopy. Hammond, situated in the heart of Northwest Indiana, is a city with a rich industrial heritage and a diverse population.
Hammond’s population density, combined with the presence of industrial infrastructure, has strained the city’s natural resources and highlighted the urgent need for green infrastructure initiatives. Developing an urban forestry management plan is essential for the Hammond Department of Parks and Recreation to reinforce its commitment to sustainable development and environmental stewardship. This plan will allow the department to focus on specific areas within Hammond with a comprehensive understanding of their priorities, enabling informed decision-making through the urban forestry management plan, inventory, and tree planting efforts.
Our Goals and Objectives
To address these challenges, Delta Institute began a new partnership with the City of Hammond in Fall 2024 with three primary objectives:
- Develop a comprehensive urban forestry management plan including an inventory for the City’s Third District.
- Beautify Harrison Park with tree planting/removal promoting equitable access to green spaces.
- Engage the community in the local urban planning.
These three objectives collectively aim to improve urban forestry management, revitalize green spaces for underserved residents, and foster community involvement and ownership in Hammond to create a greener, more resilient, and more equitable urban environment in the City Hammond. We are implementing this project with lead support from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and its Community Urban Forestry program. We have received additional support toward this project from Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute. Altogether, we’ll be co-developing plans alongside the community and planting 200 trees in the City’s Third District and Harrison Park through the 28-month process, currently projected to run through December 31, 2026.
We have developed several metrics to measure this project’s success, including:
- The planting of 200 trees in Hammond’s Third District and in Harrison Park,
- The removal of 10 hazardous trees which pose threats to the public health and safety of Hammond’s residents,
- The mitigation/treatment of 34,383 gallons of stormwater runoff annually by the trees at their time of maturity.
- The annual sequestration of 5,738 pounds of total carbon emissions (i.e., the equivalent of not burning 2,891 pounds of coal annually).
- The restoration of 25.7 acres of habitat.
- The management of 15,240 acres of urban forest.
- The creation of multiple tools for long-term use at the City of Hammond, including a citywide Urban Forestry Management Plan and updated Tree Inventory for the City’s Third District + Harrison Park.
- The participation and involvement of 200+ residents and stakeholders in community engagement activities and tree plantings throughout this project.
All census tracts that comprise the City of Hammond have been recognized as a disadvantaged environmental justice communities via the Justice40 Initiative. It also has one of the lowest ranking tree equity scores in the Chicago Wilderness region, as estimated by American Forests.
In addition to planting 200 trees in the community, we are also removing hazardous trees like the dead tree pictured above, which hovers over this children’s playground in Harrison Park.
Our Partners
This project is funded with support from the US Forest Service, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the Ni Source Foundation, and Columbia Gas. We would also like to thank all our project partners who have been critical collaborators in advancing our outcomes and goals, including the Hammond Parks and Recreation Department and Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute.