The Urban Trees Grant Program, a requirement by the Maryland General Assembly as a component of a 5,000,000-tree goal by 2031, welcomes requests for tree planting projects in urban, underserved communities. Applications may be submitted online until 4:00 pm EST on March 3, 2022.
The goal of the Urban Trees Grant Program is to green communities to enhance quality of life, human health, and community livability by improving air quality and reducing the urban heat island effect. Another aim is to mitigate effects of climate change. Communities eligible to apply must be located in urban areas with low to median household income levels, high unemployment, neighborhoods with public housing, or those that were historically redlined at any time. Redlining is a term that describes a variety of race-based strategies, expressly endorsed by governments at various levels, that were used in the past to reinforce residential segregation.
Program grants support projects ranging from those serving a single, small neighborhood (up to $15,000 or approximately 25 to 100 trees) to those serving communities across an entire county (up to $1,000,000 or approximately 2,000-6,000 trees).