Tag: IRA coalition
Partner Spotlight: The Blueprint Foundation
EXPANDING OUR IMPACT. TOGETHER.
Partnership is a foundational for us at Friends of Trees. We’re so grateful to our community partners who work with us to engage with the community, exchange knowledge, and expand our collective impact.
We recently connected with Curtis Young, the Executive Director of The Blueprint Foundation, which connects communities, primarily Black and underserved communities, to environmental and economic opportunities. They’re one of our historic partners and a member of our 11-member USDA grant coalition. Over the course of the five-year grant project, our coalition will work to empower disadvantaged, low-canopy neighborhoods to expand their tree canopy.
What does the USDA community forestry grant mean to the Blueprint Foundation and how will these funds impact your work?
CURTIS: The Community Forestry Grant is a transformative opportunity for the Blueprint Foundation. As a small nonprofit with a mission to connect communities, primarily Black and underserved communities, to environmental and economic opportunities, these funds will allow us to expand our impact significantly and scale our work in ways we’ve always envisioned but have not yet had the resources to achieve.
Community forestry isn’t just about planting trees—it’s about fostering environmental stewardship, creating green spaces that heal and empower communities, and providing pathways for economic growth through workforce development. This funding will enable us to deepen our programs, including our hands-on training opportunities in urban forestry, habitat restoration, and sustainable landscaping, which equip young people with the skills to pursue careers in green industries.
These funds will also allow us to engage even more communities in our work, creating spaces where people can gather, learn, and grow together.
Whether we expand tree-planting initiatives in neighborhoods that need them most or educate residents about the benefits of urban forestry, this grant will help us bring our vision of equitable, thriving communities to life.
On a broader level, this funding is a testament to the importance of organizations like ours, led by and for communities of color, in driving equitable environmental change. It allows us to build capacity, strengthen partnerships, and ensure that our impact is felt today and sustained for generations to come. We’re excited and grateful for this opportunity and eager to use these funds to create lasting, meaningful change.
What excites you about the coalition aspect of this project?
CURTIS: Being part of the coalition is an inspiring and rewarding experience. It’s exciting because it involves people and nature coming together meaningfully. Trees are vital to our lives—they clean our air, cool our neighborhoods, and bring so much beauty to our communities. Knowing that we’re working to grow and protect them, especially in partnership with others who care just as profoundly, feels incredible.
What makes it truly special is the collaboration.
When nonprofits, government agencies, and community members collaborate, they combine resources, knowledge, and passion. It’s not just about planting trees— but building relationships, creating healthier neighborhoods, and fostering a sense of pride and ownership in our shared spaces. Everyone’s voice matters, and the result is something we can all be proud of.
One of my favorite parts is the connection to the community. Trees bring people together, whether through planting events, educational programs, or simply the shared joy of walking under a canopy of leaves. You see firsthand how something as simple as a tree can transform a neighborhood—physically and emotionally. It builds hope and a sense of belonging.
And then there’s the lasting impact. You’re not just making a difference today; you’re creating something future generations will enjoy. There’s something powerful about looking at a tree you helped plant and knowing it will stand tall long after you’re gone, providing shade, clean air, and beauty for years. This work leaves a legacy, and being part of that is such a privilege.
Building a Community Coalition
Our $12 million grant is funding community equity work in Portland, Gresham, Eugene, and Springfield
We believe everyone deserves to experience the benefits of trees in urban landscapes. Trees and green spaces keep neighborhoods cool, support pollinators and ecosystem services, and even bolster mental health and well-being. Yet despite these benefits, tree canopy cover isn’t equitably distributed across communities and geographies, dividing most cities into high- and low-canopy neighborhoods. These low-canopy neighborhoods are often home to historically disadvantaged communities, who now bear the brunt of climate impacts when extreme weather strikes.
Last year, an 11-member coalition led by Friends of Trees was awarded a $12 million Urban and Community Forestry Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This program is investing over $1 billion nationwide to help increase equitable access to nature and the benefits of urban trees for communities most impacted by climate change, pollution, and environmental hazards.
Over the course of the five-year grant, our coalition will work to empower disadvantaged, low-canopy neighborhoods to expand their tree canopy by participating in urban forest planning processes, creating culturally-relevant educational and knowledge-exchange opportunities, and hosting community planting and tree care events.
The driving theme of the grant project is coalition building. We are so excited to work closely with our 10 community partners on this project: APANO, Black Parent Initiative, City of Gresham, City of Portland, Columbia Slough Watershed Council, Connecting Canopies, Depave, POIC, Verde, and Wisdom of the Elders.
Launching a project of this size is no simple task, and the coalition has been hard at work thoughtfully creating strategies and collaboratively planning activities to make this work a reality. The partners have assembled a coordinating committee and are collectively working on a coalition charter to set the course for the project.
Engaging community members is fundamental to the success of this project, which is why the coalition includes such a diverse array of community organizations, each with their own unique connection to the people they serve. To support planning and implementing our collaborative community engagement efforts, we’ve added a Community Coordinator to the team—Sia Hanna!
“For me, community engagement is all about commitment and relationship,” Sia says. “It’s a commitment to working alongside community members in our collective efforts to improve well-being and vibrancy within and between people and the places we call home. I believe humans are part of the ecology of place. If we are not deeply tending to each, then we do a disservice to both.”
The efforts behind the scene have led to the beginning of work on the ground: Friends of Trees has already hosted four pruning events in Eugene and Springfield that, without USDA funding, would not have been possible.
Now, we move into planting season, and our coalition project is a huge part of it. This grant is helping fund our upcoming planting events in Eugene, Springfield, NE Portland, and Gresham.
You can join us for one of two volunteer planting events on Saturday, November 23rd. We have a green space planting at the gorgeous Wilkes Creek Headwaters in NE Portland, where we will plant native shrubs to enhance this important natural area.
We will also be planting trees in Gresham neighborhoods, helping to build much needed urban canopy that will shade community members. Before the planting event that Saturday afternoon, we have a Crew Leader training—you can sign up to help lead planting crews!
Check out our calendar to sign up to volunteer.
Funding for this project provided by the USDA Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program. USDA and Friends of Trees are equal opportunity providers and employers.
Building on a Foundation of Equity Work in Eugene & Springfield
One of the great things about kicking the season off with pruning events is that you get to see the progress of trees planted in years past, and it provides a renewed vision of how each new tree will grow and provide benefits to the community.
“We were pruning trees in a neighborhood north of downtown Springfield,” says Eugene Director Erik Burke, “and it’s really satisfying to see street trees in almost every available spot, spots that were empty of trees a few years ago.”
Our Friends of Trees Eugene team just finished 4 volunteer pruning events before they move into the planting season.
“It’s great to see the trees doing well, and pruning is just so much fun,” Erik says. “I had a blast pruning some climate resilient trees we planted back in 2013, all live oaks.”
The trees that volunteers pruned had already been pruned once, but thanks to funding from the USDA Forest Service grant, we were able to prune them again.
“Trees really need more than one round of pruning,” Erik says. “It’s a very cost effective way to make sure that the trees achieve a healthy structure. And we want to prune them before they get pruned by a truck or an ice storm.”
Caring for trees is just as important as planting them, especially when it comes to addressing areas in need of trees. Planting and caring for trees where they’re needed most is foundational to our work in Eugene and Springfield, even before the Eugene Tree Foundation joined Friends of Trees.
“We’ve always planted with equity in mind,” says Eugene-Springfield Program Manager Taylor Glass. “There are so many places that need trees and there’s still so much work to be done.”
Planting season is just around the corner, and the USDA grant is funding much of this season’s planting in West Eugene and Springfield, as they are included in the Justice40 initiative, which serves communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
“When you go to certain areas and you only see one or two trees on a block, you can feel it,” Erik says. “It feels good to plant trees in those places.”
Partner Spotlight: Verde
Verde is part of the 11-member coalition for our Community Forestry Grant
We recently had the chance to connect with one of our partners about the opportunities the community forestry coalition affords. After speaking with Amandeep Sohi, Community Engagement Coordinator at Verde, it’s clear that their organization is striving to make a difference in the community.
Verde serves communities by building environmental wealth through social enterprise, outreach, and advocacy. Friends of Trees and Verde have been partners long before this coalition. In recent years, Verde helped Friends of Trees lead our first Spanish-speaking tree planting event. They also assisted in gathering volunteers and training five Latinx women to become planting crew leaders.
“When we talk about environmental wealth, we’re talking about access to green spaces and people’s ability to go into nature,” Amandeep said. “Not necessarily big, destination-parks, but also pocket parks right by our homes that we can walk to. We want to connect people to those spaces and opportunities—community gardens, naturescapes, and tree planting.”
Verde is part of the 11-member coalition led by Friends of Trees that was awarded a $12 million Urban and Community Forestry Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The grant will fund community forestry work including tree planting, natural area restoration, post-planting care, community education, opportunities for direct community input and participation, and workforce training.
Amandeep also spoke to the importance of working in these particular neighborhoods. “It’s super exciting to be working in Justice40 neighborhoods. Planting trees and native shrubs really impacts peoples lives and doing it together builds community.” The Justice40 Initiative is a goal enacted by the Biden Administration to deliver at least 40 percent of the overall investments from key federal investments to disadvantaged communities.
As for the future of the coalition, Verde is excited to work with all of the partners. “Every partner touches on different communities, different aspects of green spaces. Depave is breaking up asphalt and pavement to mitigate heat island effects. Wisdom of the Elders is bringing indigenous knowledge and ways of stewarding the land back to our communities. We’re hoping to tap into our partners’ expansive communities to reach a diverse group of participants.”
Partner Spotlight: APANO
APANO is part of our Community Forestry Grant’s 11-member coalition
For Alisa Kajikawa, it’s all about finding the balance of working toward the dream and working for the present. She’s APANO’s Community Development Manager for the Jade District, and we spoke to her about APANO’s vision for the community forestry coalition.
APANO is part of the 11-member coalition led by Friends of Trees that was awarded a $12 million Urban and Community Forestry Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The grant will fund community forestry work including tree planting, natural area restoration, post-planting care, community education, opportunities for direct community input and participation, and workforce training.
APANO unites Asians and Pacific Islanders to build power, develop leaders, and advance equity through organizing, advocacy, community development and cultural work. Their coalition work will be geared toward education and outreach, workforce development, and community infrastructure.
“We can’t grow canopy overnight,” Alisa says. “What can we do now that will still help alleviate pollution and heat in our community?”
For APANO, it means a few things, like working with businesses in the Jade district to host planter boxes filled with native plants. It means hosting community workshops on environmental justice and heat impacts. And it means thinking big picture about creating a transportation system that doesn’t rely on cars.
Alisa is excited about all the possibilities that the coalition can bring.