The program provides grants for eligible organizations to plant trees in support of the Maryland Five Million Trees Initiative. (MDOT)
The MDOT Urban Tree Program application is now open!
The program provides funding to eligible organizations to replace trees lost due to the construction of transportation facilities. This program has had a lasting impact for neighborhoods around the state. Communities have been awarded more than $140,000 in the first three years of the program. More than 1,600 trees have already been planted and funding for more than 2,200 trees has been awarded. This program, highlights the importance of community stewardship and engagement for the Maryland Department of Transportation.
The Urban Tree Program was established in 2021 and is codified in Maryland state law (Transportation §2–103.8). The law required MDOT to establish an urban tree program to improve the tree canopy in areas that have lost trees as the result of transportation construction projects. MDOT has partnered with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Maryland Urban and Community Forestry Committee to help administer the program and bring together relevant subject matter expertise. This partnership also helps ease the administrative burden on MDOT, provides an additional tree funding source for communities while leaning on the Department of Natural Resource’s forestry and community engagement expertise.
The program prioritizes communities impacted by environmental justice concerns or communities impacted by the urban heat island effect, which refers to urbanized communities that experience higher temperatures than outlying areas.
Tree plantings deliver significant benefits to Maryland. Trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping make progress toward our goal of net-zero emissions by 2045 as part of the Climate Solutions Now Act. Increased tree canopy can also mitigate urban heat islands through increased shade and transpiration, the process trees use to move water from their cells back to the atmosphere. Trees can also help to mitigate stormwater runoff and help to stabilize landscapes including slopes.
To apply for tree planting funds under the MDOT Urban Tree Program, applicants must confirm the planting location is in an urban area and within one mile of a state transportation facility. Awards up to $5,000 are available for tree planting projects with additional funding for a qualified pocket forest project — small, high density native shrub and tree plantings in urban environments that recreate or restore layers of forest.
Among eligible recipients are nonprofit organizations, schools, local business associations, youth and civic groups.
If your community is interested in planting trees and expanding the urban tree canopy, apply today! The deadline is February 15, 2025 at 4:30pm. Final applications must have county Forestry Board signoff.
For assistance with developing a community tree planting or more information about the program reach out to Ryan Mayenschein, ryan.mayenschein@maryland.gov at the Department of Natural Resources or Allison Gost Breitenother, abreitenother@mdot.maryland.gov at the Maryland Department of Transportation.
Allison Gost Breitenother is a Program Manager in the Office of Climate Change Resilience & Adaptation at the Maryland Department of Transportation. MDOT Climate Resilience Analyst Nicholas Kurtz contributed to this report.
