Urban and Community Forestry Grant Accomplishments
This page highlights recent grant awardees from CT DEEP’s urban and community forestry grant programs. Awardees are listed by year of award. You can read more about these grant programs here.
In addition to the awardees listed on this page, the Connecticut Urban Forest Council also administered over $450,000 in Urban Forestry Climate Change Grants with pass-through funding from DEEP’s Urban and Community Forestry Program through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Read more about this collaboration and explore those individual projects or view the Urban and Community Forestry Grants Outcomes Story Map.
2024
Aspetuck Land Trust, Inc. | Awarded $150,000 | Miyawaki by the Sea: An Urban Forestation Project for Bridgeport | Urban Forest Equity Grant
The Aspetuck Land Trust will work with the Wakeman Boys and Girls Club of Bridgeport and other community members to install a new “Miyawaki” style microforest in Seaside Park, Bridgeport. This microforest will feature a variety of overstory tree species, understory shrubs, and subcanopy trees to enhance structural diversity and biodiversity, benefiting wildlife and climate resilience. The project will involve youth and community members in the design, site preparation, and planting processes. Additionally, Aspetuck will offer a series of public workshops on urban forests and plant ecology as well as complimentary one-year membership to Aspetuck Land Trust for Bridgeport residents.
Gather New Haven, Inc. | Awarded $70,000 | Gather New Haven Preserves Restoration an Management | Urban Forest Equity Grant
Gather New Haven will engage a professional forester to develop a comprehensive forest management plan for over 70 acres of parkland throughout New Haven. Guided by this plan, Gather New Haven will organize volunteer days for invasive species removal and tree planting. To ensure the sustainability of these efforts, the organization will also establish park Friends groups and a Land Stewardship Committee to oversee the ongoing management of parkland forests.
Groundwork Bridgeport, Inc. | Awarded $145,000 | Tree Stewardship | Urban Forest Equity Grant
Groundwork Bridgeport will partner with EMERGE Connecticut to enhance tree planting and care in underserved neighborhoods while providing transitional employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals. This collaboration will enable the planting of at least 200 trees in Bridgeport, with ongoing follow-up care and maintenance. Additionally, invasive species removal efforts will be conducted along the Rooster River.
Keep America Beautiful, Inc. | Awarded $145,000 | National Urban Forestry Expertise Comes to Norwalk: A Green Workforce and Best Practices Toolkit for Connecticut’s Urban Forestry | Urban Forest Equity Grant
Keep America Beautiful will organize a “UniversiTREE” event, offering comprehensive urban forestry training programs to community stakeholders and civic groups across Norwalk. This event will also include workforce training in tree planting and care best practices. Guided by this knowledge, Keep America Beautiful will plant at least 120 trees across Norwalk.
NEST, Inc. | Awarded $67,410 | Urban Forestry Program | Urban Forest Equity Grant
In partnership with Bent of the River Audubon Center, NEST will plant over 50 trees in Waterbury’s Crownbrook Neighborhood and host a series of classes and library talks focused on urban forestry. The project will also include the establishment of a community tree nursery to enable residents to grow trees until they are ready for planting. Additionally, NEST will publish an informative webpage featuring urban forestry resources and a tree inventory for the Crownbrook neighborhood.
New Haven Ecology Project, Inc. | Awarded $145,159 | Restoring and Stewarding Common Ground’s Urban Forest as a Resource for Equitable Access to Nature and Workforce Development | Urban Forest Equity Grant
New Haven Ecology Project (NHEP) will conduct invasive plant removal and management on their campus and in the surrounding area, and then will follow with restoration plantings of native tree and shrub species to stabilize soils and reduce reoccurrence of invasive species. NHEP will also expand an existing “food forest” on their campus through the planting of heat-tolerant sugar maples and fruit trees. NHEP will supplement their educational mission with these activities through a series of public workshops, school fieldtrips, permanent educational signage, and paid student jobs in environmental stewardship.
New London Trees, Inc. | Awarded $115,300 | Growing Community and Trees | Urban Forest Equity Grant
New London Trees, Inc., will enhance the city’s green infrastructure by planting 100 trees throughout New London. The project will also support the long-term monitoring of urban canopy health through an ongoing tree inventory. Additionally, the organization will train youth and early-career interns in advanced tree care techniques, bolstering development of future urban forestry professionals. The project will be complemented by a series of educational community events.
Norwalk River Watershed Association, Inc. | Awarded $150,000 | South Norwalk ‘Pavement to Micro-Forest’ Urban Resiliency Project | Urban Forest Equity Grant
Norwalk River Watershed Association will work alongside residents of the neighborhood surrounding Meadow Street Park to design a micro-forest. The community will plant a variety of tree species closely together to encourage dense growth, aiming to provide rapid canopy to a neighborhood that has few trees and little plantable area. In addition to planting the forest, Norwalk River Watershed Association will host several educational library talks for residents of Norwalk.
Urban Resources Initiative, Inc. | Awarded $24,977| Protecting Trees by Engaging and Educating Volunteers in Invasive Species Management | Urban Forest Equity Grant
The Urban Resources Initiative (URI) will undertake a comprehensive effort to remove invasive species and safeguard existing canopy cover in parks across New Haven. URI plans to engage the community through over 60 volunteer days dedicated to invasive species removal. URI will also offer public workshops on effective invasive species management and removal techniques.
Town of Vernon| Awarded $131,416 | Live Here-Love Trees | Urban Forest Equity Grant
The Town of Vernon is launching its "Live Here-Love Trees" initiative, which includes the planting of 50 trees in the Rockville neighborhood. This initiative will also involve hiring and training tree ambassadors to foster community engagement in urban forestry and ongoing tree maintenance. The program will feature several educational workshops on tree care and will install permanent informational signage at designated planting locations.
2023
Town of Glastonbury | Awarded $30,000 | Glastonbury Comprehensive Forest Action Plan | UCF Planning Grant
The Town of Glastonbury will hire a certified forester to inventory approximately 1,500 town-owned forested properties.
City of Middletown | Awarded $40,000 | Urban and Community Forestry Planning Grant | UCF Planning Grant
The city will hire a certified arborist to complete a tree inventory for approximately 75 miles of roadway in neighborhoods that have a tree equity score of less than 95% (see: Tree Equity Score National Explorer). The tree inventory will also include documentation of approximately 2,000 potential tree planting sites in the city. (Press Release)
Town of New Milford | Awarded $8,500 | New Milford Tree Management Plan | UCF Planning Grant
A certified arborist will be hired to conduct a tree inventory along approximately 5.3 miles of municipal roads in the Gaylordsville section of New Milford.
Town of Stratford | Awarded $15,524 | Town of Stratford Tree Canopy Assessment | UCF Planning Grant
The town will hire a consultant to conduct a town-wide canopy assessment based on high-resolution imagery. The town-wide canopy assessment will include estimations of tree canopy cover by neighborhood, of tree canopy cover change overtime, and of potential tree planting areas on both public and private lands.
Town of Wethersfield | Awarded $17,523 | Town of Wethersfield's Tree Management Planning Project | UCF Planning Grant
The town will hire a certified arborist to create a town-wide street tree inventory, estimated to include approximately 3,000 trees. It will also include documentation of approximately 500 potential tree planting sites.
Town of Winchester | Awarded $5,000 | Town of Winchester Tree Inventory | UCF Planning Grant
A certified arborist will be hired to conduct a tree inventory along the South Main Street section in Winchester, spanning from Coe Street to Rowley Street and including East End Park.
2022
City of Milford | Awarded $14,400 | Milford’s Arboretum Inventory and Community Engagement | UCF Planning Grant
The City of Milford hired a contractor to do a full inventory, health, and risk assessment for over 600 trees within Milford’s Town Arboretum.
Groundwork Bridgeport | Awarded $19,905 | South End and West End/West Side Tree Inventory | UCF Planning Grant
Groundwork Bridgeport trained volunteers to collect tree inventory data for street trees in the South End and West Side neighborhoods of Bridgeport. This tree inventory will help guide future decisions about which tree species to plant and highlight potential planting areas for the future.
Keney Park Sustainability Project | Awarded $20,000 | Project Re-canopy | UCF Planning Grant
Keney Park Sustainability Project worked in collaboration with Riverfront Recapture, the Connecticut River Conservancy, and the City of Hartford to host a series of public events promoting tree management, maintenance, and planting.
Tree planting in Keney Park, Hartford through Project Re-canopy.
KNOX | Awarded $14,209 | Tree Inventory and Maintenance Plan for Hartford | UCF Planning Grant
Through this project, Knox was able to inventory all of the trees planted by their organization in the past 10 years.
Riverside Cemetery | Awarded $4,550 | Riverside Cemetery Tree Inventory and Management Plan | UCF Planning Grant
Riverside Cemetery hired a contractor to conduct a tree inventory of the cemetery grounds. This inventory highlighted potential future tree planting sites and identified tree health issues and hazardous trees on the grounds. With support from this grant, Riverside was able to implement recommendations identified in their inventory to remove hazardous trees and replace them with new trees.
Tree planting in Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury
Town of Avon | Awarded $10,000 | Natural Resources Inventory and Maintenance Plan | UCF Planning Grant
The Town of Avon contracted a forester to write a management plan for 722 forested acres of town-owned parcels including Alsop Meadows Conservation Area, Fisher Meadows Natural Area, Found Land Conservation Area, Huckleberry Hill Conservation Area, and Hazen Park in Avon.
Town of Columbia | Awarded $9,500 | Columbia Green Historic District Municipal Tree Management Program | UCF Planning Grant
Through this project, the Town of Columbia was able to expand its existing management plan to include the town green and town hall campuses. This plan helped the town to protect existing trees and prioritize future tree plantings.
Town of Fairfield | Awarded $5,000 | Burr Gardens | UCF Planning Grant
The Town of Fairfield received funding to create a tree inventory and management plan for the Burr Gardens in Fairfield. The grant also supported the installation of informational signage for notable trees on the grounds.
Town of Plainfield | Awarded $2,563 | Forest Stewardship Plan | UCF Planning Grant
The Town of Plainfield used funding to create a comprehensive forest management plan for a 162-acre town-owned property.
Urban Resource Initiative | Awarded $20,000 | Capacity Building to Advance Reactive to Proactive Management | UCF Planning Grant
The Urban Resource Initiative worked with the City of New Haven to document hazardous trees and stumps in the Annex, Fair Haven, Dixwell, Dwight, West River, and Hill neighborhoods of New Haven. You can view these trees in New Haven’s tree inventory.
New Haven’s tree inventory.
Through financial support provided by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the Urban Forest Equity Through Capacity Building Grant Program provided support to help municipalities and non-profit organizations build capacity through urban forestry projects that addressed both climate change and environmental justice issues. In 2022, 14 grantees, listed below, were awarded funding amounting to nearly $130,000. This grant program is no longer available.
City of West Haven | Awarded $10,000 | Urban Canopy Initiative | Equity Through Capacity Building
With support from the Urban Forest Equity through Capacity Building Grant Program, the City of West Haven hired a contractor to create an urban forest management plan along Kelsey Avenue. This project also included a tree stewardship component through the Tree Warden’s "Tree Tender" program.
City of Groton | Awarded $7,725 | Wastewater Treatment Plant Shelter Belt | Equity Through Capacity Building
Through the Wastewater Treatment Plant Shelter Belt project, the city of Groton planted 77 trees around the perimeter of the wastewater treatment plant across from Thames View Park. As these trees mature and grow, they will not only minimize the view of the treatment plant but also minimize the odors coming from the plant. These trees will also help increase overall tree cover in Groton.
City of New Britain | Awarded $10,000 | Tree Canopy Restoration | Equity Through Capacity Building
The City of New Britain planted 34 trees to increase canopy cover in an area that lost trees in recent years due to pests and winter salt damage. These plantings will not only help offset the urban heat island effect and flooding experienced in these neighborhoods, but will also provide shelter, shade, and beautification to some of the city’s most under-resourced communities.
City of New London | Awarded $9,959 | Growing Community and Trees Pilot Program | Equity Through Capacity Building
This grant funded a Tree Pilot Program to train four local youth to plant and steward trees in the city of New London. Grant funds were used to purchase trees, tools, and other educational resources.
Common Ground School | Awarded $10,000 | Growing Capacity to Steward our Urban Forests at Common Ground | Equity Through Capacity Building
Common Ground School in New Haven worked with Urban Resources Initiative to create paid internships through the Green Job Corps to support forest restoration around the school’s campus. Common Ground School also held workshops to help community members and students learn about forest and tree maintenance/stewardship.
Connecticut River Conservancy | Awarded $9,910 | Growing Community Support for Re-foresting Hartford’s Tree Canopy | Equity Through Capacity Building
For this project, the Connecticut River Conservancy teamed up with the City of Hartford, Keney Park Sustainability Project, and Riverfront Recapture to host a series of community events, including a hands-on tree cultivation project, a workshop to discuss Hartford’s tree canopy, and an Earth Day event to celebrate volunteers from the city. This included a panel to discuss tree equity in the capital city.
Groundwork Bridgeport | Awarded $8,433 | Adopt-a-Tree and Tree Corps | Equity Through Capacity Building
This grant enabled Groundwork Bridgeport to expand its adopt-a-tree program, which trains volunteers in tree stewardship and care. Through the grant, the organization was able to host stewardship events and provide tree-care kits to tree stewards.
Staff and volunteers at Groundwork Bridgeport with tree care kits.
Justice Dance Performance Project, Inc. | Awarded $10,000 | In the Presence of Trees | Equity Through Capacity Building
This grant supported a series of tree-focused dance performances and outreach events centered on environmental justice, trees, and forests. Events were held in parks throughout Hartford. These performances included outreach and engagement intended to bring new and non-traditional perspectives into urban forestry.
Keney Park Sustainability Project | Awarded $10,000 | Keney Park Tree Nursery | Equity Through Capacity Building
Keney Park Sustainability Project used grant funds to help support the creation of a native tree nursery in Keney Park in Hartford. This project also provided workforce development opportunities for local youth.
Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven | Awarded $8,512 | Urban Forestry Education and Volunteer Initiative | Equity Through Capacity Building
Neighborhood Housing Service of New Haven used grant funds to provide urban forestry educational opportunities for residents in the Newhallville neighborhood of New Haven. These opportunities leveraged the Project Learning Tree curriculum and included park clean-ups and restoration.
Neighborhood Housing Services of Waterbury | Awarded $10,000 | Urban Forestry Program | Equity Through Capacity Building
Neighborhood Housing Service of Waterbury used the funding to identify potential planting locations in the Crownbrook neighborhood of Waterbury as well as efforts to plant new trees in these target areas. This project also included outreach programs and events to help the community understand the importance of urban trees in their neighborhoods.
Norwalk Tree Advisory | Awarded $10,000 | Building Equity in South Norwalk through an Urban Forestry Project | Equity Through Capacity Building
The Norwalk Tree Advisory Committee, Norwalk Parks and Recreation, Norwalk Community College, and the Norwalk Housing Authority all worked together to plant trees in the Roodner Court Housing Complex in Norwalk. The tree planting also engaged local children to participate in the planting and learn about the importance of the trees around them.
Sierra Club | Awarded $10,000 | CT Chapter Remington Woods Project | Equity Through Capacity Building
The Sierra Club used funds to support a series of bilingual town hall meetings about the future of Remington Woods, a 422-acre woodland shared between Bridgeport and Stratford.
Stratfield Historic District | Awarded $5,000 | Stratfield Tree Planting Program | Equity Through Capacity Building
The Stratfield Historic District used the funds to develop a pilot tree-planting program in the Stratfield Historic District of Bridgeport. Through this project, they planted 20 trees to replace trees that had been lost in recent years due to storm damage. These trees will help regulate temperatures and increase stormwater retention.
Content last updated October 2024.