IT IS TIME AGAIN TO SAVE YOUR ASH!
Please help us save our neighborhood ash trees
We are one of a very few neighborhoods in Chicago that have ash trees that are surviving and thriving in spite of the invasive pest that has killed millions of them throughout the US.
Please see the map below with pricing from our arborist as to how much it would be to sponsor a specific tree that is close to your heart, or perhaps you saved it in 2021 or 2023 and you want to keep on protecting it, or just chip in to save ash trees in general that may not end up with a sponsor.
Inventory of Ash Trees within HOLS Boundaries
Inventory of Ash Trees within HOLS Boundaries
WHAT IS HOLS SAVE YOUR ASH?
Since 2021 , Heart of Lincoln Square (HOLS) conducted two highly successful volunteer campaigns to inform neighbors about the threat of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and give them an opportunity to save the street ash trees on our public parkways by donating to treat them to prevent infestation leading to their death.
Current science shows that the trees should be treated every three years to prevent EAB infestation.
They ARE A LARGE PART OF OUR URBAN CANOPY
Ash trees are a huge part of Lincoln Square’s beautiful tree canopy – at least 30 percent of it – over 300 trees are within our HOLS area alone! How do you know if it’s an ash tree? Well the bark is tight with a distinct pattern of deep diamond-shaped ridges. Or easier yet - there are metal tags on the side facing the street that were from previous years of treatment from the city like below.
Ash trees have metal Chicago Bureau of Forestry tags on the street side from previous years treatments.
We don’t want our trees to be like the untreated tree on the right
The Good news - Treatment works!
The good news is that ash trees can be preserved with a highly effective, inexpensive, and environmentally safe treatment.
Chicago was treating our street ash from 2012 until 2018 but the city ended the program due to a lack of funding. The result is that the street ash trees in HOLS will not be treated by the city again this year and treatment is due so it is on our private citizens to pay for these treatments.
SPONSOR AN ASH TREE
We need to step up where the city government has not and donate to HOLS Save Your Ash to ensure our big, beautiful, plentiful ash trees continue to grace our streets.
If you wish to donate for a specific tree, perhaps one on your block, please check out the map here and put the address of the tree(s) you want to sponsor in the designated text box under the "Amount" section. You can also refer back to the map and put the exact amount of the cost of the treatment as noted as a custom donation.
The cost to treat a tree will vary depending on how thick their trunk is, but even with the amazing discount our arborist has provided us with, the average price costs $150 per tree. You can save one, two, or several trees with our different levels of donation. They are:
One hundred percent of donated funds will go directly to treating the ash trees.
Here are some reasons folks have chosen to sponsor:
Sponsor the trees near your home or choose others that are important to you, such as those around Winnemac Park.
Honor a friend or loved one by donating in their memory.
Sponsor several trees through your business.
If you are able to, you can also chip in to help us save trees that are not sponsored. Any unspecified donations will be directed towards covering the largest unsponsored trees first down to the smallest. And if we surpass our goal of saving them all, we will earmark any surplus donations towards their future treatment.
Everyone benefits from these trees being a part of our community and it is up to us to save them.
We Have Mega-Sized Heritage Ash Trees IN Our Backyard
The Mega Sized Heritage Ash Trees are those who have been around for so many decades that they are 90 inches or more in circumference. These trees are marked in purple on the map and cost more to treat so they especially need donations to make sure they continue to thrive.
Donation deadline is July 31st, 2026 in order to be able to treat by this fall.
HELP HOLS SAVE YOUR ASH
Would you like to volunteer to help with this campaign?
Great - we need a lot of feet on the ground to assist us! Please indicate below what you would be able to help with:
More Information
Here are links to additional information on this topic:
Emerald Ash Borer Information Network
Arborjet - Chicago Citizens Unite to “Save Our Ash” with New Program Launch in 2020
