Your coalition can be broad with unexpected participants, from residents with great passion but low influence to highly influential people who might only have urban forestry in their periphery. Roles for each can be assessed on their respective capacities.

Consult your state urban forestry coordinator. Working in the state’s forestry agency, their job is to keep tabs on who’s doing what in the field throughout the state.

Many cities have dedicated staff responsible for urban forestry who are not always in an urban forestry department. They can tell you about any city plans to promote tree equity. And they can point out what groups are active in tree issues. Search your community’s website to find them.

There may be other nonprofits in your area active in conservation, equity or community improvement programs. These two sites may help you find them.

CauseIQ

Community Foundation Finder

Churches, synagogues, mosques and places of worship often lead environmental, climate change and conservation programs in their community. You can find a partial list here.

Engaged faith communities

Wherever you start, you should finish with a list of people from local organizations and neighborhoods who have a common goal of improving the urban forest. Some will serve as field volunteers. Others will sign on to help plan and implement the initiative.

Residents

Neighborhoods are often organized into groups either as formal neighborhood, district or homeowners association, business groups or informally through other local institutions like churches. Many seek to improve their neighborhoods: some for social, health, safety or economic reasons, some to simply make it a better place to live, work and learn.

Ambassadors

Ambassadors are prominent residents of their community – someone to whom neighbors will listen and can lead others to act. If you want to hear people’s real concerns, join forces with respected neighborhood leaders before you ask.

Learn how other cities recruit tree ambassadors

Meet some city ambassadors

Erica Mixon, Detroit

Community Advocate, Central Detroit Christian Community Development Corporation

Goal: Works to help residents see the power of nature to improve their quality of life.

Passion: For her, the return of trees couldn’t be more important for quality of life. Growing up in Detroit’s leafy Rosedale Park area, she often sought solace for tumultuous emotions under a tree. “All I knew how to do was pretend that things were all right, but in nature things were all right,” she remembers. “Those were moments when things were okay, and I felt safe.”

When she moved to her grandfather’s house in a part of the city devoid of trees, she experienced what she calls a profound “culture shock.”

“All I knew how to do was pretend that things were all right, but in nature things were all right,” she remembers. “Those were moments when things were okay, and I felt safe.”

Aalana Feaster, Boston

Community activist, founder/facilitator of Boston’s Environmental Wealth is Health advocacy coalition.

Goal: An experienced organizer, Aalana pulls together leaders from neighborhoods throughout the city to help shape Boston’s tree protection ordinance, its tree equity advisory council, and to promote green policies that improve the environment in lower-income neighborhoods.

Passion: Every resident of Boston is entitled to a green, clean and healthy environment – no matter where they live. The city should ensure that priority resources flow to neighborhoods where this goal remains unmet.

Mindy Maslin, Philadelphia

Retired founder of Philadelphia’s Tree Tenders program

Goal: Develop a neighborhood-based model, training activists to do work in their own communities. That’s better for the trees and better for the people who live there.

Passion: Mindy’s career path was initially inspired by her love for working with children. Working with Big Brothers Big Sisters, she discovered the transformative power of nature while taking kids on wilderness canoe trips in northern Canada. Starting as a youth educator with Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, she founded and administered their long-standing volunteer stewardship program.

Champions

Everybody hopes the trees they plant will stick around. But what about the resources to ensure your plan is implemented fully, and that regular maintenance tasks continue even decades out? Continued, aggressive support from public, private, and non-profit leadership can ensure that the process continues and succeeds. High-profile champions will mobilize and energize their peers and the public to campaign for urban forests over the long term.

Your “champion” need not be an international celebrity like Prince Harry, Giselle Bundchen or Ryan Reynolds (above, center) Community leaders can serve the same role. Consider prominent local officials, business leaders, college or university executives, school principals, or perhaps the coach or players from a local team.

Check out other local tree planting efforts to see what kind of partners they’ve enlisted in programs and leaders they’ve recruited for their boards and steering committees.

Officials and Institutions

Many different city agencies – and an equally diverse collection of community organizations – have a strong interest in promoting tree equity. Some, like parks departments and “friends” groups, already invest money, time and volunteer effort into tree initiatives. Others have responsibilities and related budgets involving trees but focus on other goals they consider more central to their mission.

Agency	Area of Interest	What they can do	What they get
Parks	Recreation, outdoor experiences	Plan for tree canopy	Natural areas, recreation, public health
Public Works	Stormwater management	Plan for trees, green infrastructure	Reduced stormwater flow, pollution
Planning	Zoning, smart growth, equity	More green space in lower income areas	Healthier, more livable neighborhoods
Transportation	Pedestrian friendly, safer streets	Plan for complete, green streets	Shade promotes transit use, micromobility
Public Health	Create healthy places	Assure every neighborhood has access to nature	Better outcomes for chronic diseases
Sustainability	Climate adaptation and mitigation	Focus in comprehensive plans	Resilient neighborhoods

Recruiting Other Organizations to the Cause

Organization	Where they fit	What they can do	What they get
Local business groups	Commitment to economic growth	Support and invest in green streets and sidewalks	Increased foot traffic, sales
Universities	Campus design	Demonstrate exemplary practices	Attracts applicants and top faculty, creates environment conducive to learning
Hospitals	Community health improvement	Support and sponsor efforts to ‘green’ neighborhoods	Improved health outcomes, more efficient delivery of care
Chambers of Commerce, Convention Bureaus	Improved business climate	Support adding green space and trees to business, entertainment and cultural sites	Draws new corporate investment, increased convention revenue
Faith-based groups	Neighborhood revitalization	Advocate for equitable distribution of green assets	More livable, healthier communities for all
Tree organizations	Trees	Allies and sources of volunteer stewards	Increased tree canopy
Conservation groups	Growing interest in the environment where people live	Allies, sources of technical support, funding	Improved urban environments

Without aligning agency and institutional goals and plans, tree equity initiatives often falter. Accordingly, some cities create multi-agency public/private partnerships that serve as the hub for urban forestry planning and implementation.

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