You'll be thrilled to hear, it's back!

Some of you will remember that back in 2021 IPC worked with numerous partners and congregations to advocate on behalf of tree planting legislation.  With the passing of the Tree Solutions Now Act of 2021, Maryland has committed itself towards planting 5 MILLION trees by 2030!  This project aims to address an array of challenges, including carbon sequestration, improved air and water quality, and reduction of urban heat island effects through the Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Urban Tree Planting initiative.  

Ten million dollars per year over 8 years will be distributed by the Trust to communities, neighborhoods, civic groups, schools, and others who commit to planting 500,000 trees in underserved regions as defined in the legislation.  This includes urban areas with low-median household income levels, high unemployment, and neighborhoods with housing projects or that were historically red-lined.  IPC is excited to be taking part in this initiative to help ensure that at least some of this work will be spearheaded by our faith communities and on faith owned properties.  Toward this end we applied for and have been awarded a grant of $133,553 to plant 376 trees at 20 congregations across the State of Maryland. This work is mainly being done in partnership with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay in the Baltimore region and Casey Trees in Montgomery/Prince Georges. They are providing technical assistance with planning and implementing the tree plantings. Laudato Trees Team (LTT) of the Archdiocese of Washington Care for Creation Committee is helping with outreach in their areas.

If your congregation or community is interested in planting trees on your congregational grounds or the surrounding neighborhood in the future, and specifically if you are located in the red areas on this CBT Urban Trees map please complete the interest form here. Let’s plant more trees!