Chicago, IL: Tree Ambassador Program
Policy Title: Tree Ambassador Program
Year Adopted: 2022
City: Chicago, IL
Main Citation: Tree Ambassador Program
Description:
The Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI) is the Morton Arboretum’s urban and community forestry program, taking action to improve tree canopy throughout the Chicago region and the state. The CRTI acts through a number of programs in areas such as communications, stewardship, and corporate engagement, to advance four key priorities: inspire people to value trees, increase the Chicago region’s tree canopy, reduce threats to urban trees, and enhance oak ecosystems. This includes Our Roots Chicago’s Tree Ambassador Program, made possible by the City of Chicago Department of Public Health, Department of Streets and Sanitation, the CRTI, and community-based organizations.
This program enables community groups to play an active role in increasing the tree canopy in their neighborhoods. In a typical two-year time frame, the Program accepts four or more groups selected out of an application pool based on their capacity to engage the public in tree-centered training and workshops. The Program provides selected groups with the training, resources, and funding to increase the tree canopy and build support for trees, becoming tree ambassadors for their communities.
This training equips new tree ambassadors with the skills to identify new tree planting locations through canvassing, then determining the feasibility of the location and educating property owners receiving trees. The trees are requested for planting by the City of Chicago using the CHI 311 app. Over the two-year period that community groups are a part of the program, participants can request as much as $20,000 for additional volunteer, planting, and financial support.
Impact:
Still relatively new, it is unclear just how many trees this initiative has helped to plant so far. The community impact can be better understood through the testimonials of current tree ambassadors:
“We decided to be involved with Our Roots because they had a real tangible focus on equity, sort of coming into communities bringing this information and resources on their terms, not dictating where they felt the resources needed to go, but really taking a deliberate approach in listening and gaining feedback and then moving forward collaboratively with planning.” - Ronaldo Favela
“It’s very important for [people in my community] to have trees in our environments. It’s our mission to provide a green environment for our future generations.” - Joko Supriyanto
Additional Resources:
Chicago Region Trees Initiative