Funding for this program is provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program.
GreenLatinos’ Urban and Community Forestry (UCF) Program seeks to promote tree equity in historically underserved and underrepresented communities, with a focus on engaging these communities to collaborate with municipalities and CBOs to address tree planting and maintenance, restoration and resilience, urban forestry workforce development, and the expansion of urban tree canopy to combat extreme heat. GreenLatinos is honored to partner with American Forests, Groundwork USA and 1890 Universities Foundation to form the Tree Equity Alliance, to help break down barriers to tree equity in disadvantaged communities.
In 2023, GreenLatinos was selected by the Forest Service as one of twelve (12) national pass-through partners to administer $20 million in USDA IRA UCF funding to municipalities and CBOs in several states. GreenLatinos has already awarded $11.5 million to 18 municipalities in California and Illinois, and is working closely with these municipalities to ensure participation from disadvantaged communities in their urban forestry planning, tree planting and maintenance, and urban forestry workforce development programs. GreenLatinos is currently reviewing applications for its Trees in Your Community Grant Program, the deadline for which has since passed. An additional $8.5 million in federal funding will be awarded to CBOs in various states and territories.
GreenLatinos is also accepting applications for its Request for Proposals on "Professional Services in Urban & Community Forestry." This RFP is specifically for subject matter experts in Urban and Community Forestry who are able to provide ongoing technical assistance to GreenLatinos' USDA IRA UCF subawardees.
A set of Frequently Asked Questions and their answers for the RFP is available here.
List of our municipal subawardees:
Click here to download our flyer.
THE IMPORTANCE OF TREES IN URBAN AREAS
Trees play a pivotal role in the well-being of our cities. Below are some key points provided by the Forest Service on why we need to continue to invest in our urban forests, especially in historically underserved, disadvantaged communities, where lack of tree equity is still an issue.
GreenLatinos works closely with community-based organizations (CBOs) and municipalities in historically underrepresented communities via frontline, grassroots efforts to promote public private partnerships to more effectively address tree equity, heat mitigation, restoration and resilience and urban forestry workforce development.
We understand that many CBOs need technical assistance and in-depth guidance when dealing with urban forestry planning and implementation in their communities. We are working to build a repository of information that will be accessible to anyone seeking guidance on Urban and Community Forestry - check out our UCF Resources page.
For more information about GreenLatinos' Urban and Community Forestry Program, please email [email protected] or contact Program Director, Rachna Vas, at [email protected].
