About Our Urban Greening Program
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Groundwork Richmond, the designated Urban Forestry Administrator for the City of Richmond, has planted and maintained nearly 3,000 trees since its founding in 2010, facilitated multiple city-wide events such as Arbor Day, MLK Day of Service, and Earth Day, hosted hundreds of volunteers, and increased volunteer and workforce capacity each year to increase it’s impact within the community. Groundwork and the City of Richmond's Parks and Landscaping Division work closely to coordinate continuous development of the urban canopy by identifying sites across the city to plant trees including parks, thoroughfares, and general areas that are lacking in trees. Groundwork has a permanent seat on the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee, it is familiar with the City’s requirements for planting trees in accordance with all local ordinances and maintains consistent communication with the City around any changes to the requirements.
One of our Urban Forestry Technicians showing our Green Team how to properly amend the soil to plant a tree
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Adopt-a-Tree ProgramGroundwork Richmond is working to increase the urban tree canopy in marginalized communities in Richmond include: Santa Fe, Coronado, and Iron Triangle neighborhoods with the help of residents and community partners.
Together we have planted hundreds of trees. Residents actively take part in the watering and care of the trees, as well as benefit from the beauty of a tree right in front of their homes. Groundwork Richmond offers support in tree plantings and after-care assistance. Are you interested in Groundwork planting a tree at your residence? Here are the steps!
Why you should consider adopting a tree:
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Urban Greening
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What is Urban Greening?
In 2012, the City of Richmond was awarded the Strategic Growth Council Urban Greening Planning Grant to create a master plan for the city (click the image to the right to read the full plan). Through extensive outreach to Richmond residents, the community shared their desire for more safe green spaces, concerns around air quality given all of the pollution emitted from nearby industrialization, continued maintenance and longevity of trees, as well as identifying over 13,000 new planting sites in Richmond. Why do we need Urban Greening in Richmond? Richmond is located at the epicenter of numerous industrial entities including an oil refinery, two major freeways, railroad lines, and ports. As a consequence, it experiences inordinate levels of air pollution, particularly nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter. These result in some of the worst air quality in the state. One study by UCSF found that children living in Richmond are twice as likely to develop asthma as those in neighboring cities, and in neighborhoods with a minimal urban canopy, detrimental impacts on physical and mental health are numerous. |
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