urban forestry

Mission

To engage our volunteers in projects that sustainably contribute to increasing urban forestry in Arizona and to educate the public on the benefits of urban forestry, including carbon capture, decreasing the heat island effect, and cleaning the air.

Objectives

Urban Forestry Programs

Tree Planting Program

AZSA’s tree planting program is dedicated to enhancing urban environments across Arizona through tree plantings and other greening initiatives. Trees provide vital ecosystem services, and AZSA’s focus is on combating climate change, urban heat islands, air quality issues, and health concerns by increasing shade canopies with native and desert-adapted trees. These efforts contribute to improved mental health, cleaner air, and reduced asthma rates in communities.

The program primarily targets disadvantaged areas with low shade canopies, using the American Forests Tree Equity Score tool to ensure trees are planted where they are most needed, promoting equity and better access to green spaces. AZSA handles tree purchasing, tool rentals, maintenance planning, tree selection, and planting logistics, while also organizing volunteer days. After planting, AZSA monitors and supports the trees long-term. In 2022, AZSA successfully planted 679 trees, with plans to expand these efforts in 2023, thanks to the dedication of volunteers and the support of our sponsors.

AZSA has a 5 year monitoring plan that works to ensure the health and sustainability of all the trees, with up to 6 monitoring visits, with bi-annual checks the first year, and yearly check-ins the following four years. AZSA monitoring includes, but is not limited to measuring the circumference of the tree trunk, circumference of the shade canopy, height of the tree, temperature under the shade canopy and outside of the shade canopy, ensuring the trees are receiving enough water, and are being taken care of properly. All data collected is entered into our ArcGIS system, Survey123

Urban Forestry Round Table

The Phoenix Metro Urban Forestry Roundtable consists of nonprofits, private sector entities, cities, county and state level representatives, and university stakeholder all focused on solving the underlying challenges needed to improve the tree canopy in Arizona.

The goal of the Roundtable is to work collaboratively to improve tree care and planting in Metro Phoenix in ways that will measurably mitigate urban heat island, improve local air quality and prioritize environmental and social justice outcomes through municipal and private investment in trees — particularly in vulnerable neighborhoods currently lacking tree canopy.

Tree Species Committee

The goal is to enhance the valleys greenery by curating a comprehensive list of suitable tree species. To empower industry professionals and the public with accessible, informed choices for the tree species selections in Arizona.

The Tree Reference Guide for Maricopa County includes nearly 100 landscape trees that are available from wholesale nurseries in central Arizona and have been encountered in Phoenix Metro area landscapes. Not all listed are recommended, and some have limited availability. The purpose is to provide information for tree planting projects in arid landscape designs and assist in decision making on tree survivability in landscapes.

Municipalities Committee

The goal is to increase tree equity and improve existing tree canopy within Maricopa county by fostering and enhancing communication, cooperation, and collaboration between municipal officials, tree planting organizations and the community.

The Municipality committee is currently working on an Urban Forestry toolkit which can be viewed here in April 2025. Stay tuned!

Business Partnership Committee

Commercial properties are a big part of the landscape and business owners are a very important part of community leadership. Engaging and collaborating with business leaders is a crucial component of improving and increasing the tree canopy throughout Maricopa County.

The business partnership committee assisted Valley leadership in finalizing their Business partnership toolkit.

Workforce Development Committee

The Workforce Development Committee aims to enhance the stewardship of urban forests, foster place-based sustainability practices, and create equitable green job opportunities while fostering a deeper appreciation and understanding of the vital role of trees in the urban environment. 

The Workforce Development committee members will assist the Greater Phoenix Urban Forestry Accelerator project, led by Jen Clifton at ASU.

Tree Stewards

This project will expand Arizona Sustainability Alliance’s Tree Stewards pilot program through training cohorts of 15-20 Tree Stewards each from disadvantaged communities in Mesa, Arizona. Each Tree Steward will complete the certification program consisting of 8 modules and hands-on training in their neighborhood, then conduct community outreach and education events. Each Cohort will participate in a tree planting organized by AZSA or another organization and then will be responsible for planning and executing the planting of up to 100 trees. We anticipate training one cohort in Year 1, and two cohorts each in Years 2 & 3, for a total of five, estimating 75-100 trained Tree Stewards and up to 500 trees planted. AZSA will be leading this project, in partnership with the City of Mesa, American Forests, and Tree Theory.

Urban Forestry Education Initiative

Arizona Sustainability Alliance has an education program called the “Urban Forestry education initiative” AZSA trains teachers to use this curriculum during a weeklong summer program. We equip them with engaging lessons, activities, resources, and valuable field experiences that they can seamlessly integrate into their classrooms. The training is hybrid with some virtual sessions and one in-person hands-on training. By the end of the week, Teachers will then receive stipends and professional development hours to support their participation.

This is the first AZ-specific urban forestry curriculum. The goal is to educate youth in grades K-12 on foundations of urban forestry in Arizona. Some of the training involves learning about tree structure, ecosystem and social impacts, and potential career pathways. Some of these UFED sessions have also been tied to tree plantings, like this year, where one lucky teacher who participated will get a tree planted at their campus. Since 2021, 195 teachers have graduated from UFED

Trees Are Cool

An extension of UFED, In partnership with Mesa Public Schools, (MPS) is collaborating with experienced non-profit organizations, like The Nature Conservancy (TNC), AZSA. Trees are Cool will show students how to grow a sustainable urban forest on their school campuses and in the community for future generations. MPS will be adapting AZSA’s K-12 urban forestry curriculum with select teachers who will work with AZSA to deliver lessons to their students. Students will explore and learn about urban forests through classroom and hands-on learning.