To expand the urban forest on these lands, some municipalities and nonprofit organizations have launched residential yard tree distribution programs, also known as tree giveaway programs. This paper describes the operations of five tree distribution programs affiliated with the Urban Ecology Collaborative, a regional network for urban forestry professionals. We analyzed the programs’ missions, strategies, and challenges as reported through surveys and interviews conducted with program staff. The research article concludes with suggestions for outcomes monitoring, whether those outcomes are social or biophysical, because monitoring is critical to the sustainability and adaptive management of residential tree programs.

Keywords: tree giveaway, program, distribution, Urban Ecology Collaborative, research, urban forestry, urban forestry

• TAGS:
• distribution,
• program,
• research,
• tree giveaway,
• Urban Ecology Collaborative,
• urban forestry,
• Urban Forests