Kentucky Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Grant – 2024 Awards
With more than half of Kentuckians now living in or near urban areas, the benefits our urban forests provide have become that much more important. $1.6 million will be distributed to cities, local government groups, and non-profit organizations across the Commonwealth to support work increasing access to trees and green spaces, and the many benefits they provide. Sixteen awardees have been selected to receive financial assistance through the Kentucky Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Grant; with projects ranging from tree planting, urban forest planning, staffing, tree related ordinance establishment, urban forest focused education, workforce development, and other urban and community forestry undertakings. Per the Justice40 Initiative, 100% of the KY UCF Assistance Grant funding will be directed toward benefiting underserved and disadvantaged communities. Additionally, these projects will boost the tree cover in urban, suburban, and rural underserved and disadvantaged communities throughout Kentucky by planting over 3,000 trees.
Funding for this historic investment in our urban forests and green spaces is provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program in partnership with the Kentucky Division of Forestry.
A
list of the 2024 Kentucky Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Grant
awardees can be found here.
Stay informed about future grant opportunities, and urban and community forestry happenings by joining our email list!
UCF Assistance Grant
Eligibility Map Now Live
The Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Grant Eligibility Map is now live to explore! This map is a first stop in determining eligibility for the UCF Assistance Grant. Incorporating Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, Tree Equity Score, and local population data, this map allows applicants to better focus their projects to benefit underserved and disadvantaged communities across the Commonwealth. For more information or to explore visit https://arcg.is/1TPPyP.
What is Urban Forestry?Urban and community forestry is an increasingly familiar term in our large cities and small rural towns. Urban forests are the trees outside our front doors. They are dynamic ecosystems that provide critical benefits to our communities, and come in many different shapes and sizes. They include parks, street trees, yard trees, landscaped boulevards, gardens, river and stream corridors, greenways, wetlands, nature preserves, shelter belts of trees, and working trees at former industrial sites. Urban forests, through planned connections of green spaces, form the green infrastructure on which small and large communities depend. Urban forests help to filter air and water, control storm water, conserve energy, provide wildlife habitat, shade and natural beauty. By reducing noise and providing places to recreate, urban forests strengthen social cohesion, spur community revitalization, and add economic value to our communities.
More than one-half of Kentuckians live in or near and urban setting. The population living in our towns and cities continues to grow, which makes urban forests in our Commonwealth more important than ever. Our urban forestry management decisions should encompass environmental, economic, social, and human health benefits. A comprehensive urban forestry program should include citizen input and support, a commitment from city officials and managers, and a properly trained work force.
Technical Assistance
The Kentucky Division of Forestry provides urban forestry technical assistance to municipalities, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and private landowners. The focus of the urban forestry program is to help communities develop long-term, self-sustaining urban forestry programs. The division also assists with tree board formation and support, the development of tree ordinances, Arbor Day planning and Tree City USA technical support and application assistance. Through these efforts, the program creates healthier, more livable environments in our cities and towns across Kentucky.
For more information about what your community can do to develop or improve its urban forestry program, contact Chris Wiedamann, Urban and Community Forestry program coordinator.
Tree Line Newsletter
The division has a Tree Line list serv that sends a quarterly newsletter as well as emails with current events, occasional grant opportunities and timely information news of interest to urban forest enthusiasts. To sign up for the list serv, please send an email to Chris Wiedamann.