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Chicago Region Trees Initiative

Support the Chicago Region Trees Initiative

Donate today to improve the health, diversity, and equitable distribution of trees in the Chicago region and throughout Illinois.

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You can help protect and improve the health of trees in the Chicago region and throughout Illinois for the benefit of everyone. Trees clean air and water, help to manage stormwater, improve our property values, create habitat for wildlife, and provide significant social and health benefits.

But trees need your help. They face threats such as invasive plants like buckthorn and honeysuckle, pests such as the emerald ash borer, and the impacts of climate change that make it harder for trees to thrive. The benefits of a healthy tree canopy are not equitably distributed throughout urban areas in Illinois, requiring dedicated efforts to ensure that everyone has access to a healthy, mature tree canopy, no matter where they live.

Please donate today to support the impactful work of the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, The Morton Arboretum’s urban and community forestry program, to improve the health, diversity, and equitable distribution of trees in the Chicago region and throughout Illinois.

Make a gift today.

Your gift will help build a greener, healthier, more beautiful world where people and trees thrive together.

Your Support Helps the Chicago Region's Trees

Inspiring Action

CRTI helps people take action to plant and care for trees in their own communities, resulting in a better quality of life. We have identified under-resourced neighborhoods and work with them to achieve their own community visions.

Planting Trees

CRTI works with schools, local governments, business, and nonprofit organizations to educate them about the benefits trees provide and how to plant and care for trees. Alongside its partners, CRTI helps plant thousands of trees each year.

Leading with Data

By assessing the condition of the Chicago region’s tree canopy and presenting the data in accessible ways, CRTI helps local officials and other stakeholders take action to make their communities more green. Its research helps to identify and address threats to trees, including invasive species, pests, disease, and climate change.

Reducing Threats to Trees

Through CRTI, The Morton Arboretum trains professionals, volunteers, and landowners to properly care for trees. CRTI also helps partners choose the right trees for urban planting sites so they can mature and thrive for generations to come. CRTI also trains landowners and managers to use climate adaptation strategies to improve climate resilience.

Protecting Our Native Oak Ecosystem Heritage

CRTI collaborates with managers of natural areas, equipping them to engage landowners to preserve oak trees, which are the keystone trees of the Chicago region’s native ecosystem. By helping to preserve and restore oaks, CRTI improves habitats and ecosystems for many other plants and animals, as well as people.