City of Tempe, AZ
Home MenuCommunity Tree Stewards Program
Join an upcoming cohort!
About Growing Together
Thanks to funding from the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management and the USDA Forest Service, the City of Tempe in collaboration with RAIL CDC has developed a Community Tree Stewards Program and an agroforestry pilot project to promote community wealth-building and expand equitable urban cooling and resilience to extreme heat. Driven by research on heat vulnerability and recent investments in local food and green stormwater infrastructure, these human-centered, nature-based solutions will expand tree canopy coverage, economic opportunity, and food access while centering Tempe neighborhoods that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Goals:
- Expand (and maintain) the urban tree canopy in Tempe, making progress toward the city’s 25% tree canopy coverage goal by 2040.
- Promote equitable urban cooling and resilience to extreme heat by centering programs on neighborhoods with the highest vulnerability to heat and the lowest tree canopy coverage.
- Create workforce development opportunities (pathways to employment with public, private, or self-started businesses) by creating opportunities for urban forestry education, job skills training, certification completion, and entrepreneurship support.
- Utilize climate-adapted urban forestry practices in the selection, planting, and maintenance of trees on both public and private property.
- Leverage the city’s commitment to nature-based solutions to find synergies between urban forestry, green stormwater infrastructure, and urban agriculture efforts.
Why trees?
Nature-based solutions are part of the strategy to cool cities. The World Resources Institute describes nature-based solutions as interventions using nature and natural functions of healthy ecosystems to address social, economic, and environmental challenges while also benefiting human well-being and biodiversity. Increasing the number of trees in Tempe will help cool the city, enhance wildlife habitat, and provide shade and other environmental benefits to promote a healthy urban lifestyle for residents and visitors. This requires thoughtful species selection and strategic planting, and ensuring proper care and maintenance.