Press Release  DCR Awards More Than $400,000 to Seven Environmental Justice Communities to Expand Urban Tree Canopy

Boston — The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) today announced the agency is awarding more than $426,000 to seven organizations to increase the urban tree canopy in environmental justice communities across the state. DCR is awarding the funding through the agency’s Urban and Community Forestry Environmental Justice Grant Program. Increased tree canopy brings positive environmental, public health, and energy efficiency benefits to residents living and working in these communities. 

"DCR is committed to increasing the urban tree canopy across the state to promote climate resilience and make our communities healthier places to live and work,” said DCR Commissioner Brian Arrigo. “The Urban and Community Forestry Environmental Justice Grant program will add to our work through programs like Greening the Gateway Cities, that help improve the lives of residents and workers in some of our most vulnerable communities by mitigating the effects of climate change.” 

The funding for the Urban and Community Forestry Environmental Justice Grant program is part of a $1.5 billion investment in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 

This funding will be used for tree planting and aftercare, tree and stump removal, community engagement and education, urban wood utilization, and workforce development. Overall, these projects will fund the planting and care of more than 500 trees in Waltham, Ludlow, Medford, Somerville, Boston, Oxford, South Hadley and Westborough. Increased tree canopy is proven to bolster resilience to extreme heat, storm-induced flooding, and other climate impacts. Overall, expanding the urban tree canopy positively impacts the lives of those living and working in a community by improving air quality, reducing energy use by keeping homes cool in the summer with shade and warm in the winter by breaking up wind, and providing habitat for local birds and wildlife.

The following communities and organizations were awarded Urban and Community Forestry Environmental Justice Grant funding: 

“We are grateful for the funding of this project. Urban Foresters are charged with a monumental task as it relates to the care and planning of our future forests, this remarkable opportunity empowers Westborough to transform its canopy,” said Kyle Grendell, tree warden for the Town of Westborough. “These trees will beautify the park, cool our corridor, and provide future generations a place of respite and joy as they help attain our climate action goals throughout the Town.”  

“The City of Waltham is grateful and excited to be a recipient of DCR’s Environmental Justice Grant. We are thrilled that our needs align with the Commonwealth’s goals. Our project “Replant Waltham” will see up to 140 new trees planted in an underserved neighborhood that is currently devoid of street trees,” said Kevin Thompson, tree warden for the City of Waltham. “This is the first time, in my experience, that an entire neighborhood will be planted at once. We are truly appreciative of the U.S Department Agriculture’s Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program, The Governor, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation.”

“Urban trees provide so many benefits to communities—from habitat for urban wildlife, to cooling our neighborhoods, to cleaning the air we breathe,” said Karina Ramos, Project Manager for Trees, Mystic River Watershed Association. “MyRWA is excited to be working with so many municipalities to put more trees in the ground. We are very thankful for this support from DCR to help grow the urban canopy in Medford and Somerville” 

“We're thrilled to be able to further our Tree Equity work in Boston through this Environmental Justice grant from DCR,” said David Meshoulam, executive director of Speak for the Trees, Boston. “The planting of 50 trees will provide numerous benefits - such as reducing heat, absorbing air pollutants, and reducing stormwater runoff - in communities where it can make the biggest impact. And, by planting on the front and side yards of private properties, these benefits will extend into the public realm.”

“The South Hadley Environmental Justice Tree Planting Program will plant 100 trees in the two South Hadley Environmental Justice Neighborhoods and provide educational opportunities to residents about tree identification, proper tree care, and how growing wild and native helps support a healthy community,” said Rebekah L. Cornell, planner and tree warden for the Town of South Hadley. 

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