Growing Equity: How NDC is Supporting Maryland’s 5 Million Trees Initiative

From plantings to right-of-way inventories, Fall 2024 was all about trees for the Neighborhood Design Center’s Landscape Design and Environmental Resilience team.

Two projects in particular focused on collecting urban canopy data for 4 municipalities in Prince George’s County: Cottage City, Colmar Manor, Bladensburg, and Seat Pleasant.

Through National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grants, NDC’s Forestry Team took full inventories of trees on municipal roads including viable locations for new trees. This data, along with health assessments and maintenance needs for each tree, was shared with the municipality councils as a tool to plan a path to fostering a thriving urban canopy.

This effort directly aligns with the goals of Maryland’s 5 Million Trees Initiative.

From the 5 Million Trees Initiative Tracking Tool Website: “The 5 Million Trees Initiative is committed to supporting environmental justice and equity through the design, implementation, and long-term management of tree planting projects. Under the Tree Solutions Now Act of 2021, at least 500,000 trees are required to be planted in urban underserved areas. These focus areas are identified using U.S. Census Bureau data and you can learn more on the Statistics and Data page.”