City of Ukiah receives coveted grant to plant hundreds of urban trees 

UKIAH, CA., 9/30/24 – The city of Ukiah was named last week as one of 22 statewide projects to receive a grant aimed at addressing climate change in urban settings. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) the Urban Community Forestry Program (UCF) and the United States Department of Agriculture are giving $31 million in grant funds to projects throughout the state under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.  

The program funds environmental initiatives in California cities. Most of the projects intend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve urban forests and increase opportunities for environmental careers.  

Ukiah’s grant of $1,399,895 will fund a Climate Resilient Forests Project, which is a plan to create a climate-resilient urban forest by planting hundreds of new trees throughout the city. During a city council meeting earlier this month, Chief Resilience Officer Blake Adams outlined how the grant will fund planting 722 trees in Ukiah, which should yield about 4.5 acres of shade. Approximately 400 trees will be planted on city-owned property, such as parks and recreation centers. The city plans to hold community events for volunteers to plant about 200 of those trees.  

“The goal is to get the community involved,” Adams said. “We want community events like weekend mass-planting events, where folks can learn about the value of trees but also help us plant trees on that same day.”  

Adams said the initial events will help the city engage with the community and understand what types of trees residents want to see and receive feedback on where to plant them. 

“It helps increase awareness, but it also helps us plant a whole bunch of trees quickly,” he emphasized. He said he’s unsure of the number of events the city will organize because they are figuring out how much of the budget will be allocated to outreach. “I can’t specify as to how many there will be because of budget funding. But a big portion of the program requires us to engage with the community at length in a meaningful way.”  

According to Adams, the grant will also fund two other programs to support low-income families and small businesses. One is called Ditch Your Lawn, a community assistance program that will provide $50,000 to low-income households to plant 120 trees on private properties. The other, the Green Parking Lots Program, will provide $75,000 to small businesses to remove concrete and plant trees around their storefronts. There will also be improvements to four miles of the city’s Rail Trail and Great Redwood Trail corridor.  

Additionally, the grant will help fund three new jobs with the city of Ukiah, including that of the Climate Resilient Forests Project program manager. Adams said that the project will be funded for three years, but the city will need to find longer-term funding after that.  

He added that receiving public feedback is important in creating a program that supports the people of Ukiah. “Actual implementation [of the program] will be dictated by more community engagement. It’s exciting and it’s going to mean a lot to the community,” he added.  

The city of Ukiah will make a public announcement when the Climate Resilient Forests Project applications are open to residents and small business owners.  

The city of Ukiah encourages community members to send feedback using the city’s climate action website, which you can view by clicking this link. The city is also asking for input on its upcoming Climate Action Plan by asking the public to fill out a brief survey, which you can access here. The survey closes on Oct. 13.