Speak for the Trees
Introduction
Speak for the Trees Boston is a nonprofit organization that works with community members to plant, preserve, care for, and advocate for trees, with a focus on expanding tree canopy in environmentally marginalized Boston neighborhoods. The organization operates at the intersection of environmental justice, racial and social equity, public health, and climate change to advocate for a healthy and equitable urban forest. Their goal is to help Boston increase its canopy cover from 27% to 35% by 2030, with particular attention to underserved and under-canopied neighborhoods.
Problem Statement
Urban tree care presents a complex challenge that extends far beyond simple planting and watering, as cities must navigate limited budgets, aging infrastructure, and environmental stressors that threaten tree survival and growth. Many municipalities lack the specialized knowledge, equipment, and workforce needed to properly assess tree health, manage diseases, and perform technical maintenance like pruning and root management, while competing priorities for public funding often relegate tree care to a lower status despite trees' critical role in public health and climate resilience. The problem is compounded by environmental justice concerns, as under-resourced neighborhoods frequently suffer from inadequate tree canopy coverage and maintenance, creating disparities in air quality, temperature regulation, and community wellbeing that perpetuate existing inequalities. Additionally, urban trees face unique stressors including soil compaction, pollution, limited growing space, and extreme weather events that require ongoing monitoring and adaptive management strategies that many cities are ill-equipped to provide consistently across their entire urban forest.
Our Solution
Speak for the Trees Boston addresses urban tree care challenges through an innovative community-based solution: the Adopt-A-Tree program that transforms tree maintenance from a municipal burden into a shared civic responsibility. This program strategically focuses on the most vulnerable trees—those planted within the last three years—which require 15 to 20 gallons of water weekly during growing season but often die from inadequate care despite significant public investment in their planting. By creating an accessible digital platform at map.treeboston.org, residents can easily locate and commit to caring for specific newly planted street trees in their neighborhoods, logging their maintenance activities to ensure comprehensive coverage and accountability. The program directly tackles the resource constraints that plague municipal tree care by distributing responsibility across engaged community members who provide the intensive watering and monitoring that cash-strapped city departments cannot sustain. Currently piloted in East Boston and the Ellis neighborhood, with expansion plans for additional areas, this hyperlocal approach ensures that trees receive consistent, personalized attention during their critical establishment period when survival rates are lowest. Beyond addressing the immediate practical challenge of tree mortality, the program builds lasting environmental stewardship by connecting residents to the tangible benefits trees provide—from air quality improvement and flood protection to mental health benefits and climate resilience—creating a community invested in long-term urban forest health rather than viewing trees as solely the city's responsibility.
