Chicago residents and community groups can join the Tree Ambassador Program to request trees to be planted in their neighborhoods.
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The Tree Ambassador Program, in collaboration with Our Roots Chicago, provides Chicago residents and community groups with training, resources, and funding to plant trees in their neighborhoods and build community support for trees.
Tree Ambassador Program partners receive training, funding, and priority status to request trees to be planted in parkways by the City of Chicago via the CHI 311 app.
Impact of the Program
Through the Tree Ambassador Program, over 3,000 trees have been planted within priority areas in the City of Chicago.
Applications to join the Tree Ambassador Program are currently closed.
Community organizations must apply to join the program and are selected based on their capacity to engage the public in tree-centered training and workshops. The program accepts four or more community groups on a typical 18-month timeframe.
For more information on how to apply, please reach out to Hilary Noble, tree ambassador specialist, at hnoble@mortonarb.org.
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Tree Ambassadors
After training, tree ambassadors scout out tree planting locations through canvassing, tabling at events, and other activities. 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 about how to properly care for them. They then request trees to be planted in the location by the City of Chicago by using the CHI 311 app.
Over the 18-month 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.
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.
Applications to join the Tree Ambassador Program are currently closed. For more information on how to apply, please reach out to Hilary Noble, tree ambassador specialist, at hnoble@mortonarb.org.
Join as an Organization
The program is built around cohorts of four or more community partners on a typical 18-month timeframe, 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. You can apply to join the program if you are in a community organization with a 501(c)(3) status, or affiliated with an organization that is and can act as your fiscal agent or sponsor.
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.
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. See Tree Ambassador Partners for a list of 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 Hilary Noble, tree ambassador specialist, at hnoble@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.
Any community organization with a 501(c)(3) status, or that is affiliated with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that can act as a fiscal agent or sponsor, may apply to become a Tree Ambassador partner.
