Urban Forestry and Tree Equity

—The Benefits of Urban Trees—

Urban forestry is more than just planting trees—it’s about creating resilient, safe and healthy spaces that address the social, environmental, and economic needs of communities.

Community-centered urban forestry programs can:

Boost Community Health: Trees are a powerhouse for resilience against extreme weather. They help clean our air, cool our neighborhoods, and reduce flooding risks. Shaded, cool neighborhoods are healthier, safer places to enjoy the outdoors.

Grow the Urban Forestry Workforce: By training young people to plant and care for our tree canopy, we protect natural spaces, while opening doors to careers in the urban forestry job market.

(Re)Connect Communities: From planning to planting, urban forestry programs provide opportunities for community members to come together to create a shared vision for their neighborhood and work together to make that vision a reality.

Trees provide benefits that improve our lives, and building excellent urban forestry programs founded on grassroots community engagement is an amazing opportunity to strengthen neighborhoods where trees are needed the most.

Meg Morgan, Senior Manager of Urban Forestry Programs

—What We’re Doing—

As a national passthrough partner for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry program, Groundwork USA is teaming up with select passthrough awardees and Groundwork Trusts to engage residents in the planting and stewardship of urban trees in the neighborhoods where they are needed most!

—our Work IN ACtion—

Community Stewardship
Groundwork Ohio River Valley

Groundwork Ohio River Valley team is ramping up its tree planting efforts – adding at least 200 new trees to the canopy in Lower Price Hill in the coming years – and building a trained cohort of Tree Ambassadors to provide consistent maintenance and care to the new trees as they take root. The program is run in both English and Spanish so most residents have the opportunity to participate in their primary language. Over the next five years, they will add at least 400 new trees and recruit 30+ Ambassadors to care for at least 900 young trees that support their community climate action plan.

Community-Centered Planning
Groundwork San Diego, Chollas Creek

Through its Chollas Blue Green Vision campaign, Groundwork San Diego is mobilizing 5,000+ community members to identify, prioritize, and champion investments in nature-based solutions. With funding from the Forest Service, they are recruiting Tree Captains to identify neighborhoods most in need of trees, lead plantings, and convene neighbors to care for the new trees.

Workforce Development
Groundwork Rhode Island

Groundwork Rhode Island’s Ground Corps will build their urban forestry job skills by planting micro-forests in low-tree canopy neighborhoods across the state to improve air quality, cool neighborhoods, and improve stormwater management.