Federal Aid to Improve Tree Canopy in Disadvantaged Illinois Communities
Photo Credit: The Morton Arboretum
The Morton Arboretum will receive $15 million in federal funding from the U.S. Forest Service through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to expand and improve the tree canopy in disadvantaged communities throughout Illinois as part of a $1 billion investment to boost the nation’s urban tree cover in underserved communities nationwide. The federal grant funding the Arboretum will receive is the largest award in Illinois, the most awarded to a public garden in the country and a historic sum for the nonprofit, tree-focused organization. All of the funding will flow to disadvantaged communities in all 50 states, territories, Pacific islands and tribal communities.
The Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI), an Arboretum-led coalition of more than 200 partner organizations working together to improve Chicago’s regional forest for nearly 10 years, will award sub-grants exclusively to communities and organizations supporting underserved populations to provide more equitable access to trees and bolster resilience to climate change, including urban, rural and tribal areas of the state.
An estimated 450 Illinois communities meet the federal Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool guidelines as disadvantaged or underserved.
Scientific studies have proven those who live in areas with low tree canopy are disproportionately impacted by poor air quality, flooding, higher temperatures and associated health challenges.
Organizations will be invited to apply for funding through CRTI in a competitive sub-grant application process. Grant applications are expected to be posted on the CRTI website in late 2023.
