To fulfill this mission and align with goals identified in Massachusetts 2025-2030 Clean Energy & Climate Plan, funding is available for community tree planting projects, specifically targeting neighborhoods with documented urban heat islands, hotspots and/or areas that suffer from surges of extreme heat.
Projects must achieve tree planting, tree watering, tree maintenance & stewardship and/or impervious surface removal that will have a measurable impact on the present and future tree canopy within a specified area. Projects should focus tree planting efforts on locations with limited tree canopy, particularly within areas experiencing documented urban heat island effects and in high pedestrian traffic areas with significant amounts of vulnerable populations present (i.e., walking routes to schools, nursing homes, transit stops, health centers).