American Forests joins leading nonprofits in call for congressional action on extreme heat and Tree Equity

June 4, 2024

With the extreme heat season approaching, U.S. Representatives Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) convened a panel of leading nonprofits, including American Forests, to raise awareness of the significant threat posed by extreme heat and its disparate impact on communities of color and disadvantaged communities,

Keeping our summer dreams alive

By Jad Daley | June 3, 2024

A word from our president and chief executive officer

“OK Google, what is Tree Equity?”

By Adrienne Bermingham | June 3, 2024

How support and data from Google are elevating the Tree Equity Score tool.

Shade for survival

By Adrienne Bermingham | May 17, 2024

Tree Equity efforts in Houston strive to help the city combat extreme heat.

American Forests hosts extreme heat briefing to address the worsening effects of climate change

May 14, 2024

American Forests is hosting a Congressional briefing on Tuesday, May 14 at the Longworth House Office Building on policies that can help to reduce the increasingly severe impacts of extreme heat on communities and ecosystems across the country.

The Detroit News: Tree Equity is essential for health equity

April 30, 2024

The spring planting season is well underway and the Detroit Tree Equity Partnership's goal of planting 5,000 trees by the end of this summer is within reach! Learn more from Jad Daley, CEO of American Forests, and Jerry Norcia, CEO of DTE Energy in their latest article in The Detroit News (subscription needed).

Community takes action on extreme heat in El Mirage, Arizona

By Jake Simon | April 25, 2024

Tree Equity is a major challenge in Arizona because of extreme heat - our partnership with the Arizona Sustainability Alliance is one of American Forests’ place-based efforts meant to ensure that we bring communities into the center as we expand equitable tree cover nationally. 

American Forests and Green Columbus improve Tree Equity in Central Ohio with help from Google

March 27, 2024

American Forests, the first national nonprofit conservation organization in the U.S., worked alongside Green Columbus to plant 50 trees at Columbus Africentric Early College High School.

Phoenix Metro Urban Forestry Roundtable works to cool America’s hottest city 

By Jake Simon | March 14, 2024

The Phoenix Metro Urban Forestry Roundtable is working to make Tree Equity a reality through cross-sector partnership and a holistic approach to urban forestry in the age of extreme heat.

Second Upward Ground summit gives students fresh perspectives on environmental careers

February 5, 2024

Upward Ground summit immerses high school students from underserved communities in the possibilities of green careers.

Rooted ambitions: Nurturing trees and cultivating careers in New York City

By Adrienne Bermingham | February 5, 2024

College interns with the Greenbelt Native Plant Center are making a big difference for New York’s urban forests.

Tree Equity Score goes international

By Julia Twichell | December 11, 2023

Team members from American Forests, Woodland Trust, and Centre for Sustainability weigh in about the groundbreaking launch of Tree Equity Score UK.

Tree Equity is helping to combat extreme heat in Phoenix 

By Jake Simon | October 27, 2023

Advancing Tree Equity at a national scale and meeting American Forests’ goals of advancing Tree Equity in at least 100 cities by 2030, forms the basis of our local-to-national program model. Our approach to place-based partnerships, like in Phoenix, flips several existing urban forestry management paradigms on their head.  

Sheffield, City of Steel…and trees

By Lee Poston | October 13, 2023

American Forests and partners in the United Kingdom bring the groundbreaking Tree Equity Score tool across the pond.

Ushering in the next generation: Tree Equity Score 2.0

By Brittany Washington | October 1, 2023

Learn more about Tree Equity Score 2.0 in this Q&A with Chris David, vice president of GIS and data science at American Forests.

Extreme heat, urban forestry bills will plant trees, cool neighborhoods

April 28, 2023

American Forests is ready to support the Office of Environmental Justice and federal agencies to prioritize the needs of frontline communities. Expanding urban forest canopies will be an essential part of the equation, narrowing environmental inequities and providing communities with cleaner air and water, as well as temperature-reducing shade.

American Forests Applauds Creation of White House Office of Environmental Justice

April 21, 2023

American Forests is ready to support the Office of Environmental Justice and federal agencies to prioritize the needs of frontline communities. Expanding urban forest canopies will be an essential part of the equation, narrowing environmental inequities and providing communities with cleaner air and water, as well as temperature-reducing shade.

American Forests, Washington DNR announce statewide partnership to advance Tree Equity

April 13, 2023

American Forests and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are launching the Washington Tree Equity Collaborative, a statewide partnership to achieve Tree Equity across the Evergreen State by expanding and fortifying neighborhood tree canopy cover.

Investing in urban forestry workforce innovation

By Hannah Gregory | April 10, 2023

How the Tree Equity Workforce Network is raising the bar on pre-employment training.

Trees are a fixture of urban life

June 5, 2022

A glimpse into the role of trees in our everyday lives.

Urban trees are experiencing a moment…and a movement

March 7, 2022

Kesha Braunskill helps push the urban trees movement to the limelight.

Grafting the future of the ash tree

By Katherine Gustafson | March 7, 2022

A research biologist is leading the charge to protect species of ash trees from the ravaging threat of the emerald ash borer.

Making Tree Equity a reality: U.S. cities participate in first Tree Equity Learning Lab

December 21, 2021

What does creating Tree Equity in American cities actually look like? This fall, American Forests set out to answer this question. It turns out that every city has a different answer.

We partnered with TAZO Tea to create an urban forestry workforce

October 21, 2021

American Forests and TAZO Tea teamed up in 2021 and launched the TAZO Tree Corps, a paid, locally-hired workforce that is planting and taking care of trees to help mitigate climate change, address environmental injustice and bring jobs to people of color and those in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods.

The quest for Tree Equity in a desert city

October 4, 2021

How Masavi Perea is working to advance environmental justice while cooling Phoenix neighborhoods.

Two Arizona cities take major steps towards realizing Tree Equity

October 4, 2021

American Forests partners with the cities of Phoenix and Tucson to help achieve Tree Equity.

Forest Footnotes

October 4, 2021

Exciting developments, outside of American Forests, in the field of forestry.

The economic lifeblood of trees

June 6, 2021

SUZANNE RADFORD KNOWS the power of forests to help heal the sick and stressed. Those incredible capabilities enabled her to

Seeing the city for the trees

February 21, 2021

The importance of engaging youth in urban forestry.

Seeing the city for the trees

By Morgan Heim | February 21, 2021

The importance of engaging youth in urban forestry.

The Understory: What is an urban heat island?

February 19, 2021

View larger infographic.

Innovation: Innovative financing brings carbon markets to cities

February 11, 2021

How City Forest Credits offers an innovative way to bring carbon markets to cities.

Innovation: Innovative financing brings carbon markets to cities

February 11, 2021

TreeFolks’ reforestation staff members sort saplings at a planting event along the Blanco River in Austin, Texas. Credit: Matthew Bradford.

Movement Building: City of Boise makes admirable commitment to plant trees

February 11, 2021

Boise, Idaho is making an outsized commitment to reforestation.

Movement Building: City of Boise makes admirable commitment to plant trees

February 11, 2021

The city of Boise has pledged to plant 100,000 trees (one for every household) and 235,000 tree seedlings (one for

Donor Profile: Sheryl Gold

October 5, 2020

Advocate inspires with decades-long support of forests Sheryl Gold in her East Hampton, N.Y., backyard. Gold has been an advocate

Youth Profile: Joshua Simon

October 5, 2020

Southern roots lead to career in urban forestry Joshua Simon is a master’s student studying environmental social science at the

Forest Footnotes: Fall 2020

October 5, 2020

#BlackBotanistsWeek — celebrating black people who love plants #BlackBotanistsWeek, a social media campaign, helped promote, encourage and create a safe

Growing trees, growing jobs

October 5, 2020

How growing trees and building healthy forests can breed jobs during the unemployment crisis.

Growing trees, growing jobs

October 5, 2020

How restoring forests across the United States can help address the unemployment crisis By Michele Kurtz After being incarcerated, William

Innovation: American Forests launches Tree Equity Score tool to help cities expand tree cover

October 5, 2020

How a new tool to assess Tree Equity Score will help cities expand tree cover.

Innovation: American Forests launches Tree Equity Score tool to help cities expand tree cover

October 5, 2020

Trees in the U.S. absorb 17.4 million tons of air pollutants, preventing 670,000 cases of asthma and other acute respiratory

Innovation: Turning Waste to Wealth with a Wood Reuse Economy

May 31, 2020

The environmental and economic benefits to cities of reusing wood.

Innovation: Turning Waste to Wealth with a Wood Reuse Economy

May 31, 2020

LARGE TREE BRANCHES and used timber piled up at Baltimore’s 5-acre forestry waste station called Camp Small. Many of the

Planting Tree Equity

February 11, 2020

Learn how economic inequity and tree cover in cities are inextricably linked, as well as what American Forests does to create Tree Equity.

Planting Tree Equity

February 11, 2020

In cities across the country, marginalized communities suffer from a lack of trees. American Forests helps people see that disparity

Earthkeepers: Restoring the Roots of Rock

By Ian Leahy | February 10, 2020

How the music industry’s future depends on healthy forests and what American Forests, the U.S. Forest Service and Fender Musical Instruments are doing to ensure the stability of both.

Earthkeepers: Restoring the Roots of Rock

February 10, 2020

By Ian Leahy Fender Musical Instruments knows the importance of protecting the species that produce the wood that is transformed

Project Showcase: From Baltimore Wood Waste to Careers in Modern Design

October 11, 2019

Read about our work to incubate an urban wood business in Baltimore.

Project Showcase: From Baltimore Wood Waste to Careers in Modern Design

October 11, 2019

By Ian Leahy American Forests and Bank of America planted trees in a vacant lot in Baltimore and used urban

Urban Forestry Takes on the World. But First, Rhode Island

October 5, 2019

Discover how the state of Rhode Island is positioning itself as a national leader on how urban forests can help combat climate change.

Urban Forestry Takes on the World. But First, Rhode Island

October 5, 2019

By Ian Leahy Urban forests comprise 17 percent of the total U.S. carbon sink, or 1.8 percent and rising of

What is Urban Forestry? A Quick 101

August 7, 2019

What is Urban Forestry? Urban forests make up a significant amount of America’s tree canopy. In fact, over 140 million

Leadership Profile: Kesha Braunskill

February 19, 2019

Leadership Profile: Kesha Braunskill – Making Black History Now in 2019 American Forests is pleased to highlight those who have