Federal grants are heading to several groups in the D.C. area to plant thousands of trees in an effort to create more green spaces.
D.C.-based nonprofit Casey Trees will receive $9.1 million to plant 10,000 trees around the city in the next five years.
“It’s really the country recognizing the effects of climate change, along with the inequitable disbursement of trees and green space through our communities and saying, ‘Let’s do something about it,” Casey Trees spokesman Vince Drader said.
The funding is through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Urban and Community Forest grant, which was passed through the Inflation Reduction Act.
The grant will also allow the group to maintain and prune some 30,000 young elm, oak and maple.
Most of the planting will be done in traditionally underserved communities in Wards 5, 7 and 8 in the District.
“These are neighborhoods that we’ve found that have 42% less canopy than the west side of the city and areas west of Rock Creek Park,” Drader said.
Tree canopies provide many benefits for neighborhoods, including cooler temperatures by reducing the heat island, lower rates of respiratory illness and reduced impact of flooding.
“Trees have also been shown in many studies to reduce crime and calm traffic. So … in addition to all the environmental benefits, there’s plenty of benefits that we see through trees that are community-based and go far beyond just the environmental benefits,” Drader said.
Casey Trees will also plant trees in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties in Maryland and Fairfax County in Virginia.
Other groups in the area also received grants for similar projects, including Montgomery County, Maryland-based Nature Forward, which received $1.3 million, and the City of Fairfax, which received $1 million.
“It makes a huge difference for the grandmother who doesn’t have air conditioning, or the kid who has asthma, or the parent who works outside for 10 hours a day,” John Podesta, senior adviser to President Joe Biden for clean energy innovation and implementation, said in a statement about the USDA grants. “This investment will create not just greener cities — it will create healthier and more equitable cities.”
