Why are trees in cities so important?

The majority of the world’s population lives in urban areas so it is crucial to invest in the health & quality of life of city-dwellers. In the face of increased pollution, more frequent extreme weather events, and spiking summer temperatures, urban trees are an excellent tool in alleviating the harm to our environment and improving the health of our communities. Unlike grey infrastructure, trees are one of the only kind of urban infrastructure that actually increases in value as they age.
The larger the tree, the more benefits, or ecosystem services it provides!

What is the Urban Forest?

 The Urban Forest consists of all the trees and all the living things throughout an entire city!
Our urban forest includes:

• The trees on our streets and in our parks and cemeteries
• Trees and shrubs in our backyards, commercial parking lots, and on school yards and college campuses
• Volunteer “weed trees” growing up through chain link fences in empty lots
• The wooded areas along rivers or highways

On top of all the plant life, each one of us and the squirrels, birds, skunks, rats, raccoons, and butterflies are all creatures of the urban forest. All together we make up one connected urban forest ecosystem!

What is Urban Tree Canopy?

Urban Tree Canopy is what we call all the leafy, green, overhead cover provided by trees across our city (picture the layer of coverage from trees and shrubs that you would see if you were looking down from an airplane!)