Why is tree equity important? They are just trees, right? So what? They don’t impact health, wealth, quality of life? They just look good!
Well, in fact trees do ALL of these things. They drastically reduce deadly heatwaves, reduce breathing problems, shelter your home from the elements, reduce drainage costs, increase your mood, and save you money in all kinds of other ways. Now a new tool shows us which communities are receiving these benefits and which are not. Urban communities in particular are dangerously low on tree cover. We can help deliver basic human rights to those that need it just by planting trees.
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Quotes
06.48 - 06.58: “If we aren’t delivering trees and the benefits of trees to populations that need them the most, then we… have a really big moral imperative of our time that we are dealing with.”
10.45 - 10.54: “Trees are important for people and… they are [an] essential part of our climate justice conversations and our health justice conversations.”
Takeaways
Data can be democratized (03.47)
Benita has worked with cities on climate change issues and urban greening for 22 years, including being a policy advisor to the mayors of Boston and New York City. Julia helps bring data into urban communities to help them advocate for their causes. Benita explains that American Forests, with their deep history of forest restoration, is focusing on ensuring tree equity in urban areas so that all communities can benefit from greenery.
Tree equity (07.19)
Julia points out that the Tree Equity Score tool that American Forests created makes it visually apparent using maps that the lack of greenery in poorer communities is a national issue. Such tools can help city and community leaders advocate for the need to invest in trees using data. Benita shares that they work at the federal level to funnel funds towards communities and states and create tools that will protect trees for the long term.
Social and climate injustices (11.50)
Julia notes that Tree Equity Score data shows that “neighbourhoods with the fewest residents of colour tend to have 3 times more tree canopy per person and are 3 degrees cooler”. Areas with the lowest poverty rates have double the tree canopy per person and are 6 degrees cooler than areas with the highest poverty rates. Such patterns come from inadequate policies and systemic inequities in governance and planning processes, and can be addressed by equitable planting.
Trees are the jack of all trades (14.29)
Benita sees the work of American Forests addressing the intersectional issues of disenfranchisement of communities not only from trees but also food, transportation, housing and other important services and amenities. Julia highlights that trees provide many different benefits to communities, including heat regulation, absorption of pollution and mental health. Their goal is to get to 500 million trees nationally to sequester 9 million metric tonnes of carbon.
Baseline tree cover (22.18)
Benita celebrates the 1.5 billion dollars of funding American Forests has unlocked in partnership with US Forests towards protection and maintenance of trees in urban communities to ensure tree equity. Maintaining trees is just as important as planting them, and they focus on helping communities ensure their trees stay climate-, heat- and disease-resilient. Julia adds that tree equity is informed by a baseline of tree cover that should exist to ensure healthy communities.
Broadening horizons (28.29)
Benita talks about how a big part of their work is to involve local communities in the conversation on their local cultural context and needs. Planting and maintaining trees also creates employment in the communities. The city of Phoenix became allies on this project when they put out a proclamation in 2021 to advance tree equity. American Forests is also hoping to expand into the UK and Canada.
A human-centred approach to filling gaps in the urban forest (32.58)
Julia explains that the Tree Equity Score is a free tool American Forests created as a prioritization system, which provides a score from 1 to 100 based on a combined measure of tree canopy and social and climate health. “The lower the score, the greater the need for priority and investment”, she says. The new version of the tool covers all urban areas in the USA, including urban population hubs of smaller communities, making it a national standard.
Breaking down the Tree Equity Score (35.15)
Julia delineates the different parts of the Tree Equity Score - the tree canopy goal and the priority measure. The tree canopy goal, the standard baseline of forest cover that can provide the basic health and safety benefits in a community, is scaled to the local ecology to make it more achievable and feasible. The priority measure is derived from the heat severity data to help identify communities that are most impacted by climate change.
Data is powerful to help change minds (40.58)
Julia lists the indicators used to measure priority - race, income, employment, age and language barriers. “I think having the right data is important for credibility of how you communicate about the issue”, she believes, which can help fortify the stories and anecdotes each community has about tree equity. Benita recalls that developing a rigorous tool was critical to move the cause of tree equity forward at a local governance level, just as it was to make the tool free and open.
A holistic solution (47.31)
Benita emphasizes that “trees are a very critical part of a holistic solution to improving people’s lives” and Julia reiterates the interconnectedness of tree equity and community health. The user guide accompanying the Tree Equity Score tool describes how to calculate the benefits of reaching different equity score targets. They have also partnered with i-Tree to help calculate localized benefit estimations of trees.
Coming together for tree equity (54.30)
Benita and Julia hope that the Tree Equity Score tool can help local communities apply for funding for tree planting or tree giveaway programs. American Forests recently launched the Tree Equity Alliance to bring other national organizations together on the issues of urban greening and environmental justice. More funding opportunities will become available as a result of this coalition.
A sense of urgency (1.00.14)
Benita expresses a sense of urgency to advance tree equity with local leaders and decision makers since “some communities are much more likely to be sick or die than other communities”. Julia believes that healthcare costs can be balanced by investing in a tree canopy. While Benita feels driven to work on this issue because of her own privilege of enjoying green spaces, Julia approaches this from the lens of a geographer, providing people with data to make the case for reducing environmental disparities.
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