Prince George’s County is taking tree planting to a whole other level. More than just beautification, their new program focuses on local infrastructure
development.
Through its Urban Tree Planting Program, the county is planting 2,147 additional native trees and more than 3,000 native perennials, shrubs, and smaller trees in communities identified as having some of the greatest environmental need.
The effort reflects a growing reality for counties: tree canopy is increasingly being viewed not just as an environmental asset, but as a form of local infrastructure tied to heat reduction, stormwater management, public health, and neighborhood resilience.
The county has announced that plantings are underway in and around the following areas and promises more to come:
- the City of District Heights
- the Town of Capitol Heights
- the Town of Bladensburg
Another interesting aspect of this program is how the county went about location selection. According to the county, planting sites were identified using:
- equity-based mapping requirements
- MDEnviroScreen data
- the county’s Tree Equity Mapping Tool
Through these efforts they identified and targeted areas of lower existing tree canopy, higher concentrations of pavement and impervious surfaces, and greater vulnerability to urban heat and stormwater runoff.
That means the program is designed not simply to add greenery, but to direct resources where they can provide the greatest benefit. For local governments, tree planting increasingly intersects with a wide range of county priorities and on a larger scale supports Maryland’s Tree Solutions Now Act of 2021, which calls for the planting of five million native trees by 2031.