Movement-building impact
American Forests builds movements to inspire and empower collective action, building together for amplified impact. Last year, “Tree Equity” entered the lexicon and was embraced as a critical part of the urban forestry field. From grassroots engagement through our Catalyst Fund to advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill and the White House, we guided cities and policymakers on how to make Tree Equity a reality and reinforced its role in advancing climate and environmental justice. And, on large landscapes, we coordinated collective reforestation through our REPLANT initiative and fostered a movement to educate, train and deploy foresters to collect the cones needed for future resiliency.
Our movement-building Catalyst Fund took national investment and dug deep into on-the-ground success.
When American Forests first created the term Tree Equity, we dreamed of it being more than just a concept. We wanted to lead and mobilize a movement of cities, frontline advocates and national allies to address the disparities in tree cover in American cities. Last year, American Forests played a critical leadership role in the Tree Equity movement. 2024 was the year we went from teaching “what” Tree Equity is and “why” it matters to digging deep into “how” cities can make Tree Equity a reality through funding, tools, workforce development, advocacy and on-the-ground support.
Photo Credit: Lee Poston / American Forests
Our Tree Equity Catalyst Fund is one of the most pivotal ways in which we did so. In 2023, American Forests received $50 million in catalytic funding from the Forest Service to support Tree Equity. In 2024, we put those dollars into action.
Last year, American Forests invested over $25 million into our first round of Catalyst Fund grantees, including 33 municipalities and three community-based organizations across the Midwest and Northeast, helping them establish and grow Tree Equity programs in their communities. The awards supported initiatives from early-stage efforts to large-scale, established projects, ranging from workforce and nursery development to reforestation to community engagement. This funding is now directly supporting communities like Albany, N.Y., in ensuring all people experience the benefits of trees by helping cities advocate for, plant and steward trees where they are most needed.
We also launched a request for proposals to award another $12 million to faith-based and environmental justice organizations. By extending funding and technical assistance to frontline community- and faith-based organizations, the Catalyst Fund is supporting these trusted community anchors to drive this work forward through their deep connections to the specific needs of their local communities.
It is only by working together that we can expand access to the life-saving environmental and health benefits trees provide while creating jobs, strengthening essential infrastructure and helping communities become more resilient.
Building a collective reforestation movement for future resiliency
American Forests, the Forest Service and CALFIRE continued to strategically collaborate to address challenges to post-burn reforestation on public and private lands through the Reforestation Pipeline Partnership, work for which American Forests earned the distinguished 2024 CALFIRE Directors Award. To address both workforce and seed supply challenges, through the California Cone Corps we collectively trained 25 technicians to improve the scale of reforestation and hosted six Cone Camps, training over 175 Californians on everything from cone surveying and collection to seed saving.
Movement building in action
Coordinating a California cone collection movement with agency partners
After concerted focus on coordination, education and workforce development, in fall 2024, American Forests, the Forest Service, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE), and other partners collected 11,330 bushels of cones, enough to grow around 57 million seedlings and fuel the movement to restore California’s fire-scarred forests.
Photo Credit: Andrew Studer / American Forests
Photo Credit: Jeremy Inglesi Jr. / American Forests
Engaging a community and inspiring the next generation
In Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, American Forests and its partners continued to build a movement that will impact the region’s native thornforest conservation efforts for decades to come. In 2024, the Rio Reforestation planting event saw its greatest turnout and success by engaging the community and its future generation of land stewards, tallying more than 1,600 volunteers — including more than 700 students — to plant over 15,000 seedlings across 10 acres in a single day.
Advocating for life-saving infrastructure with the Tree Equity Alliance
Tree Equity Alliance members presented on a panel at Climate Week NYC 2024 titled “Tree Equity: Investing in the Economy of America’s Life-Saving Infrastructure.” Panelists included Benita Hussain, American Forests’ chief program officer of Tree Equity; Mark Magaña, founding president and CEO for GreenLatinos; Cate Mingoya-LaFortune, chief officer of climate resilience and land use for Groundwork USA; and Antonio McLaren, vice president for program innovation and implementation for the 1890 Universities Foundation. The Alliance advocates for equitable tree canopy in communities and pools the funding, community engagement, federal and local policy efforts, and planning expertise of its partners.
Photo Credit: Laura Pedrick Photography
“American Forests is an irreplaceable leader and voice for forests, inspiring collective action to drive meaningful change for people and the planet. Their advocacy, grassroots engagement, and large-scale reforestation efforts are creating real, lasting progress toward climate resilience and healthy, biodiverse forests. We are proud to support their visionary leadership in creating a greener, more equitable future for all.”
— Sacha Spector, Ph.D., Program Director for the Environment, Doris Duke Foundation
