Local nonprofits will plant tens of thousands of trees across the D.C. area in Black and brown neighborhoods that currently lack tree canopy. It’s an effort to promote ‘tree equity‘ — making sure the many benefits of trees reach everyone.
Weyerhaeuser employee Teri Rongen, left, student Troy Rath, 15, and Tacoma Public Schools board member Chelsea McElroy work on planting a tree in the fields behind Mount Tahoma High School during an event with American Forests, Friday, April 14, 2023, in Tacoma, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Local nonprofits will plant tens of thousands of trees across the D.C. area in Black and brown neighborhoods that currently lack tree canopy. It’s an effort to promote ‘tree equity‘ — making sure the many benefits of trees reach everyone.
This infusion of greenery comes thanks to the federal Inflation Reduction Act. The U.S. Forest Service announced the grants this week, totaling $1 billion over the next five years. More than $34 million of that was awarded for projects in the D.C. area.
“It’s really a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring green amenities and resiliency to historically disadvantaged communities across Washington, D.C.,” says Andrew Schichtel, chief operating officer at Casey Trees, which was awarded more than $9 million.
Schichtel says the federal money will pay for community outreach, planting of 10,000 new trees, pruning and maintenance of 30,000 young trees, and tree plantings at 75 schools. In addition, the organization will be able to hire ten new employees, ranging from entry-level crew members to data technicians. The tree planting work will be mainly in wards 5, 7, and 8 in D.C., and in Prince George’s County.
The disparity in tree cover is easy to spot in D.C., Schichtel says. Just take a walk down Connecticut Ave., a leafy thoroughfare traversing some of the richest and whitest neighborhoods in the city, and compare that to Minnesota Ave, which serves poorer neighborhoods in predominantly Black wards 7 and 8. While much of Connecticut Ave. is lined with mature oak trees, most of Minnesota Ave. has only small trees providing little in the way of shade.
“That experience is pretty consistent across the United States,” Schichtel says.
The Biden Administration has pledged that 40% of climate funding will go to disadvantaged communities that are overburdened by pollution, shown here in gray.The White House
Under the conditions of the grant funding, all of the money must go towards work in underserved communities that are overburdened by pollution. These communities are also the most at risk from the impacts of climate change, including extreme heat and flooding. Increasing tree canopy can help cool these neighborhoods and prevent flooding.
Another local group getting funding is Defensores de la Cuenca, which was awarded $2 million to focus on tree planting in Latino communities across the D.C. area.
“Communities of color, Latinos, typically live in areas that are less green, have less access to green space. So focusing in on the Latino community really is important not only for beautification but also to improve lives,” says Abel Olivo, co-founder and executive director of Defensores de la Cuenca (“defenders of the watershed” in Spanish).
The group will use the money for a program called Embajadores de los Árboles, or Tree Ambassadors. It’s a paid Spanish-language training program, where community members learn about trees and the benefits they bring.
“The expectation is our tree ambassadors will go into their communities, their circles, their networks to share and spread the message of the importance of trees,” Olivo explains.
The ambassadors help recruit tree hosts, who agree to have trees planted at their home or church or elsewhere. The ambassadors then follow up with the hosts over the course of 18 months to make sure the trees are thriving. After a period of three growing seasons, the young trees’ survival rate goes way up, Olivo says.
Nature Forward, based in Montgomery County, was awarded $1.4 million to plant about 1,000 trees, along with native understory plants.
“Our idea that we’re calling ‘tree-cosystems’ is to, as much as possible, bring the services of real forests into our urban communities by pairing native trees that support native insects with plantings underneath – sort of like small pollinator gardens,” says Alison Pearce, Nature Forward’s deputy director for programs.
The ‘tree-cosystems’ will be installed in communities throughout the D.C. area, Pearce says, including the Route 1 Corridor in Fairfax County, Langley Park and Edmonston in Prince George’s County, and Silver Spring in Montgomery County.
Other grant recipients in the region include the Chesapeake Bay Trust, the Chesapeake Conservancy, and the City of Fairfax.