Community Greening Stewardship Program

The Community Forestry Stewardship Program is designed to help Baltimore residents green their neighborhoods by offering education opportunities and technical assistance to plant and maintain street trees, create gardens and parks on community open spaces, schoolyards, and streams. Parks & People supports the planning, surveying, organizing, and implementing of greening projects in partnership with residents, city agencies (including Recreation and Parks and Forestry), community associations, and other private and nonprofit groups.

Educational opportunities include hands-on training in tree planting, pruning and maintenance, soil testing, and streetscaping techniques. Classes are held four times a year on developing greening projects, conducting green infrastructure surveys, funding strategies, volunteer recruitment and implementation and maintenance. Volunteer community activists become Community Tree Stewards by working throughout the city training others in planting and maintaining trees, and cleaning and greening neighborhoods. Contact us to find out more and join us in the fun and joy of planting and caring for trees. See our document Tree Tips - Caring for Urban Trees or watering tips for recently planted trees.

Since 1993, over 20,000 street trees have been planted by community residents in 45 Baltimore neighborhoods and over 300 vacant lots have been transformed into community-managed gardens or parks. Community Forestry maintains a plant nursery nurturing trees for use in community green spaces.

Partner organizations include Revitalizing Baltimore, Maryland State Forester, Baltimore City Departments of Housing and Community Development, Public Works, Planning, and Recreation and Parks, Maryland Cooperative Extension, Civic Works, and the Greater Area Master Gardeners Association.

For more information on our any of our Community Forestry programs contact Jaleel Nash at 410-448-5663, ext. 103.