TreePennsylvania’s PA’s Environmental Justice Forests grant program aims to provide opportunities for communities to increase tree canopy within specific Environmental Justice (EJ) areas throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, while concurrently engaging and educating community members on the myriad of benefits provided by community and urban forests. With a multi-phase, multi-year approach, PA’s EJ Forests plans to : (1) increase tree equity scores through targeted tree plantings in multiple communities across the Commonwealth, (2) provide Tree Tender training for members within those communities, and (3) provide technical assistance through the development of sustainable urban and community forestry practices. This collaborative project, in coordination and partnership with Penn State Extension Urban Foresters as well as PA DCNR Service Foresters, will directly assist communities in addressing climate resiliency, storm water reduction, water quality improvement, urban heat island mitigation, as well as increasing the health and wellbeing of community members.
PA’s Environmental Justice Efforts
The Commonwealth of PA’s Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Environmental Justice provides a wealth of information about this important topic. Those interested in learning more can visit :
PA DEP : Environmental Justice Policy – September 2023 (slides)
PA DEP : Office of Environmental Justice (website)
TreePennsylvania PA’s Environmental Justice Forest’s Grant Program
The primary goal of this program is to provide funding for Bare Root Trees within Environmental justice areas throughout the Commonwealth. TreePennsylvania was fortunate to receive generous funding through PA DCNR for this grant program.
Accurate mapping tools to determine areas in need
To that end, TreePennsylvania will ask applicants to utilize the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) and/or DEP Environmental Justice layers on TreeKeepers, the DCNR tree mapping tool, to identify potential tree planting areas which meet the specific criteria for this grant program. CEJST is a screening tool developed by the Council on Environmental Quality as directed by President Biden in 2021. This mapping tool uses specific dataset as indicators of burden, including : climate change, energy, health, housing, legacy pollution, transportation, water and wastewater, and workforce development. For more information about data and methodologies specific to CEJST, visit their website.
2024-2025 Grantees
Recipients of TreePennsylvania’s PA’s Environmental Justice Forest Grant :
Bloomsburg, Columbia County – awarded $3,000 for site prep and $12,000 to plant 100 bare root trees.
City of Easton, Northampton County – awarded $3,000 for site prep and $12,000 to plant 100 bare root trees.
Borough of Kingston, Luzerne County – awarded $5,460 for site prep and $21,840 to plant 182 bare root trees.
Lake Erie Arboretum at Frontier Park, Erie County – awarded $4,500 for site prep and $18,000 to plant 150 bare root trees.
City of Meadville, Crawford County – awarded $2,600 for site prep and $8,400 to plant 70 bare root trees
City of Scranton, Lackawanna County – awarded $7,500 for site prep and $30,000 to plant 250 bare root trees.
Upper Macungie Township, Lehigh County – awarded $7,200 to plant 60 bare root trees.
Downtown York, Inc., York County – awarded $4,000 for site prep and $12,000 to plant 100 bare root trees.
Resources
PA DCNR TreeKeeper mapping software
PA DEP : Environmental Justice Policy – September 2023 (slides)
PA DEP : Office of Environmental Justice (website)
Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool
treepennsylvania.org 