In 2022, the California budget was passed with record-level funding for urban forestry and urban greening for non-profits and local agencies, with substantial increases for CalFire (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) .

• Grant information and guidelines, grant applications due April 28 for Trees in Schoolyards, grant guidelines not yet posted for community trees
• Challenges include 25% cost share, geographic eligibility, identification of places to grow trees, GHG calculations, survival=replace trees that don’t survive 3 years after grant ends, and long-term tree maintenance
• Grant amounts are large, no one can get a grant and do a project alone!

Urban forestry is included in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (Federal) for several agencies and programs: urban forestry, environmental justice, health, education, and transportation.

• More than $1.5 billion are included to grow resilient communities and forests in the Inflation Reduction Act. Read 12-page summary
• Fact Sheet on the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), What’s included for Trees?”
• Overview webpage and links to grant application guidelines

California ReLeaf will fund a “Funding Webinar” on Thursday, April 20 at 12:00 about the new federal grant funds for urban forestry and partner communities. Register here. Presenter is Miranda Hutten, the U&CF Program Manager from the USDA Forest Service.

Check out our “grow trees together” page to learn more about what it takes to grow a canopy together (purpose, places, plan, purchase, plant and care for trees). Includes links to several reports about the successes and challenges of tree planting programs.