News Releases

(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — The Bluegrass state will be looking a little greener this year as more than two dozen organizations across Kentucky enhance the state’s tree canopy through tree planting projects. The projects are funded, in part, by the LG&E and KU Foundation’s Plant for the Planet grant program. The Foundation awarded this year’s grants to 25 organizations across 10 Kentucky counties.  

“Supporting the environment is a key priority in our business operations and partnerships across the state,” said Angie Evans, LG&E and KU vice president of Corporate Responsibility and Community Affairs. “The projects these grants make possible impact our communities by enhancing the landscape and increasing the population of healthy trees across the Bluegrass for years to come.”

LG&E and KU’s Plant for the Planet grant program awards matching grants in amounts of $500 to $5,000 to organizations with a history of successful tree plantings in the LG&E and KU service territories. These organizations include the following for 2019: 
 

• Botanica Inc.
• Brightside Foundation Inc.
• Campbellsville University 
• Cherokee Triangle Association Inc.
• City of Danville
• City of Harrodsburg
• Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve Inc.
• Friends of Taylorsville Lake State Park
• Friends of the Parks of Fayette County Inc. 
• Isaac W. Bernheim Foundation Inc.
• Lexington Fayette County Government
• Louisville Free Public Library Foundation
• Louisville Grows Inc.
• Louisville Metro Government
• Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy Inc.
• Louisville Waterfront Park
• Louisville Zoo Foundation Inc.
• Masonic Homes of Kentucky Inc.
• Nativity Academy at St. Boniface Inc.
• Renewport Inc.
• Shelbyville Cemetery Co.
• Spalding University
• TreesLouisville
• University of Kentucky
• Wilderness Louisville Inc.

Since the grant program’s launch in 2009, more than 40,000 plantings have occurred in a range of urban and rural settings that offer public access, including parks and nature preserves. Many successful projects have also used unique approaches to incorporate trees within other landscape settings. 

Not only do trees add beauty to our surroundings, they’re also a key component of our ecosystem and play a vital role in energy. Trees help reduce energy bills by providing summer shade, winter warmth and winter windbreaks — benefits that will multiply long into the future thanks to partnerships that fund tree planting projects across Kentucky. 

The Plant for the Planet program is modeled after the United Nations’ Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign, which promotes the planting of more than one billion trees annually by individuals, communities and businesses worldwide.

###

Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, part of the PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) family of companies, are regulated utilities that serve nearly 1.3 million customers and have consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. LG&E serves 328,000 natural gas and 414,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties. KU serves 555,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia. More information is available at www.lge-ku.com and www.pplweb.com.