American Forests' Tree Equity efforts include planting trees to shade busy playgrounds from the hot sun, like this playground at Taft Park in Richfield, Minn. Photo Credit: Evan Frost / American Forests

I FIND THE ANTICIPATION of summer almost as enjoyable as the season itself. The potential for exploration and play peaks as we unhunch our shoulders after colder months and find our bliss in the sun.

Yet in an era of climate change, the future of summer looks much cloudier.

The threat of extreme heat and air pollution in cities is growing rapidly. While heat-related deaths grab headlines, I am also concerned about heat’s less-deadly impacts on people’s health. We will increasingly have fewer days when we can exercise safely outside with activities like walking, running and biking.

This is not speculation. In researching a talk for the World Governments Summit, I discovered startling statistics. In The Lancet, I read that the number of days on which even moderate exercise poses a health risk due to heat has risen nearly 20% worldwide in recent years. That number is projected to increase another 40% by mid-century.

Climate change is also complicating our summer dreams on America’s beautiful public lands. A dramatic increase in hyper-intense wildfire means more direct dangers to local residents and visitors, more-frequent park closures and greater risk of air pollution from smoke.

These fires are also decimating forest health on our public lands, as exemplified by the loss of 325 million whitebark pine, the anchor tree species for mountain forests across the American West. These tenacious trees keep the high country healthy, from holding snowpack and sheltering trails to feeding wildlife like grizzly bears.

In the face of these threats, we can take action to ensure we can maintain the active lifestyles we love and that help define life in our country. I’m proud that American Forests is doing just that.

In cities, we are applying Tree Equity principles to help create healthy and safe outdoor recreation areas. I’m especially proud of this work in Phoenix, where we have helped align the city’s historic commitment to Tree Equity with a strategy to create 100 “cool corridors” for exercise and active transportation. We are now working to make cool corridors a feature of Tree Equity programs across the country.

Our Tree Equity work also includes efforts like shading busy playgrounds in the Twin Cities from the hot summer sun. Similarly, we are using trees to bring cooler and cleaner air to school play areas, community recreation centers and public parks in lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color, which too often lack trees.

I’m proud that our work with partners such as Eddie Bauer and REI has bolstered high-impact reforestation efforts on our public lands. Through our new partnership with Life Time and the National Park Service, we are planting specially cultivated, resilient whitebark pine in 10 of America’s iconic national parks, including Yellowstone, Glacier, Crater Lake, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon.

In the face of climate change, American Forests is utilizing key partnerships to bolster high-impact reforestation efforts on public lands, including in multiple iconic national parks. Photo Credit: Jacob W. Frank / National Park Service

This whitebark pine restoration will not only help protect recreational experiences and habitat, it will also serve as a learning lab for restoration on other public and tribal lands, which together comprise over 90% of the tree’s range.

Perhaps most broadly, I’m proud that we have developed a globally valued new approach to replanting after wildfire, which includes tailoring every aspect of site preparation, tree species and genetics, planting techniques, and adaptive management. The forests that arise from these ashes will be more resilient to wildfire in the future — essential to maintaining the health and accessibility of our public lands and reducing far- reaching, unhealthy wildfire smoke.

Through partnerships like our new REPLANT keystone agreement with the U.S. Forest Service, we are co-leading the reforestation of millions of acres of burned lands using a climate-resilient approach. Due to climate change, we know we will need to do so again and again, and we must use each acre as an opportunity to replant in new ways for greater wildfire resilience.

So, while I harbor concerns about the heat- and fire-related health threats we face, supercharged by climate change, I am still hanging onto my summer dreams.

I draw immense hope from our ability to use trees and forests as a healthcare investment for people and our planet. And we have never had a better opportunity to make this happen thanks to historic new partnerships and funding.

Thanks for being on this journey with us, and please know that the whole team at American Forests is meeting this moment with the urgency it demands. I hope to see you out on the paths and trails!

For more news and updates from Jad, follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @JadDaley

The post Keeping our summer dreams alive appeared first on American Forests.

Representatives from Green Columbus, Google, Columbus Africentric Early College High School and American Forests came together with Columbus community members in March to plant trees. The event celebrated the launch of the Columbus and Franklin County, OH Tree Equity Score Analyzer application. The newly developed Tree Equity Score Analyzer, tailored for Columbus and Franklin County, offers advanced prioritization for tree-planting efforts, scenario planning and impact reporting. This tool is designed to assist users in improving Tree Equity Scores on a site-by-site basis. Photo Credit: Mikayla Heinen / Green Columbus

IN THE SPRAWLING URBAN landscapes of America, the importance of trees extends far beyond aesthetics. Trees serve as vital lifelines, offering shade, cleaner air and better mental well-being. However, not all communities have equal access to these essential green spaces. This stark disparity is at the heart of the Tree Equity movement, a cause named by American Forests and now propelled by support from Google.

In 2022, Google.org provided $450,000 in grant funding and invaluable technical expertise to improve American Forests’ groundbreaking Tree Equity Score tool. Through Google’s AI-powered Tree Canopy insights, American Forests’ GIS team gained access to high-resolution tree canopy data, revolutionizing the accuracy and scope of the Tree Equity Score. This collaboration paved the way for the expansion of the tool beyond the United States, culminating in the launch of the Tree Equity Score in the United Kingdom, a critical turning point for the Tree Equity movement that signifies the global nature of the issue.

Google provides high-resolution tree canopy data that is fundamental to the calculation of Tree Equity Scores. This data enabled the 2023 expansion of Tree Equity Score coverage to all urban communities in the United States. Photo Credit: Julia Twichell / American Forests

By sharing its tree canopy data with American Forests, Google is advancing a fundamental aim of the Tree Equity Score tool: making data more accessible to inspire community involvement and drive progress. In cities like Houston, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio, Google’s support has enabled the creation of Tree Equity Score Analyzers — city-specific, deep-dive versions of the Tree Equity Score tool — that empower local stakeholders to identify and prioritize tree-planting projects for maximum socioeconomic impact.

In March 2024, representatives from American Forests and Google joined community leaders in Columbus, Ohio to celebrate the launch of the Columbus and Franklin County, OH Tree Equity Score Analyzer, The analyzer was created through consultation with representatives from more than 25 local organizations, including individuals from regional planning councils, county parks departments, conservation districts and community garden groups. The stakeholder council then used the tool to identify an area with a low Tree Equity Score in which to host an inaugural planting event.

Led by local partner Green Columbus, volunteers planted trees at Africentric Early College High School, signifying the beginning of a collaborative investment in Tree Equity in the region.

This local endeavor serves as a microcosm of the broader movement towards Tree Equity, which is fueled by strategic collaborations and support from companies like Google who share American Forests’ vision of Tree Equity.

“The AI work we do at Google is most impactful when partners like American Forests are out there working with communities, making sure our tree canopy data is put to work for urban canopy planning,” says Dan Morris, senior research scientist with Google AI for Nature and Society.

Beyond planting trees, these collaborations empower stakeholders in cities nationwide to prioritize Tree Equity in their planning and policymaking. With a bold goal to bring Tree Equity to cities and towns across the U.S. and the globe, American Forests is leading the charge toward a future where every community, regardless of race or income, enjoys the benefits of a thriving urban tree canopy.

The post “OK Google, what is Tree Equity?” appeared first on American Forests.

Our staff is no different. In conjunction with our Forests in Focus Photo Contest, we host an internal competition to give staff members a chance to show off their photography skills. This year, they submitted dozens of photos, and everyone on staff had the opportunity to vote for their top three photos. The contest provides a fun opportunity for staff to take a different focus on the critical landscapes we’re working to protect.

PHOTOGRAPHER’S PERSPECTIVE: “Prescribed fire is a vital tool for forest restoration in south-central Oregon. In 2022, I joined fire practitioners at The Nature Conservancy in their fall burning, which aimed to restore upland forests and remove thickets of young lodgepole pine that are encroaching onto the wetlands of Sycan Marsh. During firing operations, there was a busyness about the landscape as crews placed and directed fire to achieve the objectives. After dark we watched as the fire continued to work through the stillness of the cold night air, steadily consuming accumulated fuels and occasionally bursting to life, as I was able to capture here.”

PHOTOGRAPHER’S PERSPECTIVE: “Very little is serene in this chapter of my life with a 1-year-old and a 2-year- old, but serenity settled over even my small children as we took in the lingering color show of a sunset over the peaks in Paradise Valley, Mont. It was a moment to reconnect with a sense of peace, and I still use this photo to ground me when the busyness of life swirls.”

PHOTOGRAPHER’S PERSPECTIVE: “Before graduate school, I worked on the Big Island of Hawai’i, assisting with a U.S. Geological Survey forest restoration project. This moss-covered Acacia koa became a favorite of mine due to its character and location by our ‘lunch spot’ at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge. Weather at Hakalau is extremely variable, ranging from sunshine and perfect visibility to heavy rain and even snow. On this day, we had a thick fog, which made for an atmospheric backdrop to our fieldwork and caused the old-growth koa trees to appear like guardians looming through the morning fog to protect the remaining old-growth forest fragments.”

The post American Forests’ 2024 staff photo contest winners appeared first on American Forests.

WINNER: “Elk Leaves” by Neil Jacobs
“He looks like the Lord of the forest!”
— @maggieneedspie, Instagram

“Geomagnetic Superstorm” by Claire Thompson
“I love them all, but since I work at the oldest public observatory in the Western Hemisphere, I’m partial to this one!”
— Jill S., Facebook

“I’m Nuts for Nuts” by Melissa Rowell
“I love the textures in this photo with the moss on the forest floor and the bark of the tree. And the innocence it captures of the squirrel’s behavior.”
— Alyssa H., Facebook

“Frost” by Ed Neville
“Even on cold, grey days, you can find beauty if you keep your eyes open. The heart-shaped leaf reminds us that love is everywhere and in everything.”
— @Julie8i8, Instagram

For more amazing photography, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.

The post Last Look: 2024 Forests in Focus People’s Choice appeared first on American Forests.