Before the first tree goes in the ground, partners must agree not only on where to plant them but also who’s responsible for immediate post-planting care and long-term monitoring. You’ll need to recruit and train volunteers, assign municipal staff or hire contractors to do the job.
Early care
Before the first tree goes in the ground, partners must agree not only on location but also who’s responsible for immediate post-planting care and long-term monitoring. You’ll need to recruit and train volunteers, assign municipal staff or hire contractors to do the job.
First steps
To “bridge the urban tree canopy gap” most communities engage neighborhood and civic groups to recruit volunteer tree planters. No matter who wields the shovel or fills the alligator bag, taking care of trees requires careful planning and long-term commitment from the community and the city. This work will pay off as trees mature and deliver the benefits you anticipated when you began your initiative.
These volunteers often become stewards of “their” trees – monitoring and providing water regularly. Modest training, a continuing relationship with the volunteer groups and an occasional drive-by review by a participating arborist often will suffice to assure early survival.
Learn how one community nonprofit — Providence Neighborhood Planting Program — mobilized neighborhood leaders and residents to take on major tree planting initiatives throughout the city.
The stakes? Do it well and most communities achieve what they wanted. Doing it poorly, or not at all, wastes money. And as trees quickly decline, so does trust in future tree equity programs.
