VIDEO: Columbus, Ohio protest at Tesla draws hundreds on Saturday
Protesters gathered outside the Tesla dealership at Easton Town Center in Columbus on Saturday to protest Elon Musk and federal spending cuts.
- Due to the federal government withholding reimbursement for $75,000 in tree planting grants, Earth Day Columbus will be smaller this year with thousands fewer trees planted.
- Columbus City Council plans to partially cover the shortfall by passing $40,000 for the nonprofit Green Columbus.
- Columbus is suing the Trump administration for not reimbursing a separate $500,000 tree-planting grant.
- Council member Christopher L. Wyche emphasized the importance of trees for the environment and people’s health. He criticized the Trump administration, saying “trees are not DEI.”
Columbus City Council is stepping in to fill some of the funding shortfall after the federal government delayed reimbursing $75,000 in tree planting grants to local nonprofit Green Columbus.
Still, Earth Day Columbus, which Green Columbus organizes, will be smaller this year and thousands fewer trees will be planted in April than in previous years.
This is the latest local example of the fallout from funding cuts or freezes by President Donald Trump’s administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency involving money previously approved by Congress — including grants awarded years ago.
Shelly Douglas, Green Columbus executive director, told The Dispatch it’s important people realize the local impact of the government not fulfilling a contract signed in 2022. In this case, two federal grants were passed through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to plant 500 trees at Columbus City Schools. Green Columbus has planted the trees and spent the money.
When they went to collect reimbursement in February, Douglas said ODNR told them, “basically don’t hold your breath for this funding” from the federal government.
The city’s own tree-planting program is in a similar position. After the Trump administration didn’t reimburse Columbus via ODNR for nearly $400,000 of an awarded $500,000 grant the city already spent to plant trees in disadvantaged neighborhoods, Columbus joined a lawsuit two weeks ago against Trump, Musk and DOGE.
“(Tree planting) shouldn’t be controversial because we have one planet. We know the benefits of trees,” Columbus City Council member Christopher L. Wyche said at Monday’s council meeting.
Wyche announced that council members intend to vote next week on $40,000 for Green Columbus to help with the funding shortfall. The council also voted Monday to recognize April as Earth Month and April 22 as Earth Day.
“Trees are not DEI. That is foolishness,” Wyche said.
Wyche was referring to the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, often called DEI. The U.S. Forest Service has been canceling tree planting grants and calling them DEI.
“Earth Day Columbus is the largest volunteer-driven event for Earth Day in the United States … For the 55th anniversary of Earth Day, we wanted to make it the biggest yet, but our organization is being bottlenecked by lack of reimbursement from the government,” Douglas said in a news release. “This year, Earth Day is more about community resilience and strength of partnerships rather than record-breaking numbers.”
Douglas said that even with the city’s help, Green Columbus volunteers will only be able to plant about 14,000 trees in April. Last year, they planted 74,000 trees in April.
“Columbus is the fastest growing heat island in the country, and trees help cool our city, clean our air, and mitigate stormwater runoff,” Wyche said. “Green Columbus is doing a service for the residents of our city and this Council believes we owe it our constituents to do everything we can to combat climate change in the face of a federal administration that sees trees as DEI.”
To put a $75,000 shortfall into perspective, Green Columbus’ budget last year was just under $400,000, according to Douglas. Beyond Earth Day, this grant not coming through could impact other Green Columbus programs, Douglas said. That includes supplying mulch and soil to community gardens, distributing prairie seeds and operating the Linden Tree Nursery, which gives away trees to homeowners. Council’s funding will help cover some of this.
Council member: ‘grateful the summer food program remains intact’
Later in the meeting, the council voted to accept a $2.5 million grant for this year’s summer food service program for school children. The grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture flows through the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
The program will serve more than 180,000 meals to thousands of children at over 100 locations across the city, including at parks facilities, schools and nonprofits.
“With all the uncertainty surrounding the funding of federal programs,” Wyche said, “we are grateful the summer food program remains intact due to the critical impacts it has on families throughout the city.”
Wyche said he’s rolling out an online survey for Columbus residents to share with the council how the “uncertainty and turmoil” within the state and federal governments is affecting them.
Government and Politics Reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
