Chicago Region Trees Initiative

Tree Ambassador Program

Chicago residents and community groups can join the Tree Ambassador Program to request trees to be planted in their neighborhoods.

Our Roots Chicago’s Tree Ambassador Program provides Chicago residents and community groups with training, resources, and funding to plant trees in their neighborhoods and build community support for trees.

Participants of the Tree Ambassador Program receive training, funding, and priority status to request trees to be planted in parkways by the City of Chicago via the CHI 311 app.

How to Apply

Groups must apply to join the program. The program accepts four or more community groups on a typical two-year time frame. Community organizations apply and are selected based on their capacity to engage the public in tree-centered training and workshops. Those selected complete training and become tree ambassadors for their communities.

Tree Ambassadors

After training, tree ambassadors scout out tree planting locations through canvassing. Once a location for a new tree is identified, tree ambassadors look for utility boxes, check for overhead wires, and inform and educate property owners receiving trees on how to properly care for them. Then they request trees to be planted in the location by the City of Chicago by using the CHI 311 app.

Over the two-year period, Tree Ambassador Program participants and grant recipients can request as much as $20,000 to be used toward recruiting additional volunteer staff, supplying community members with the proper tree care and planting equipment, and financially supporting the participating organization’s operations.

Through training and community engagement, program participants will directly increase support, care, and advocacy for trees.

Support

The Tree Ambassador Program is made possible by the City of Chicago Department of Public Health, City of Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation, The Morton Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative, and community-based organizations. The program’s goal is to increase tree canopy in priority areas, increase tree advocacy, and increase engagement in support of trees.

How to Get Involved

When you become a tree ambassador, you’ll join a large, supportive community of people who care about trees. Whether you join as an individual or with an organization, there will be others working alongside you, eager to share their knowledge and love for trees.

Join as an Organization

The program is built around cohorts of four or more community partners on a typical two-year time frame who apply to receive training, funding, and priority status for requests to plant trees through the CHI 311 app. The number of community partners accepted may increase as funding grows. Accepted organizations can request up to $20,000 in reimbursement to build out their support network, request trees, and organize workshops and events.

Organizations involved in the program also receive training on how to teach other community members to use the CHI 311 app and request trees in their neighborhoods.

The next application cycle is due Wednesday, December 4, 2024.

View the application form and guidelines.

Join as an Individual

You can join the Tree Ambassador Program as an individual by joining a community group that is already part of the program. In Resources and Partners, find partner organizations that are part of the Tree Ambassador Program and see if any are near you.

If you have a group in mind, or are unsure of where to start, reach out to Melinda Escobar, tree ambassador specialist at mescobar@mortonarb.org to get connected with a tree ambassador near you.

Once you connect with the tree ambassador, they will train you how to use the CHI 311 app to request trees to be planted.