We all rely on our urban forest…help it grow by becoming Sapling Stewards!
This spring as part of the City of Providence’s Earth April 2025 – “Keeping our Cool When Temperatures Rise” activities, the Providence Parks Department, Providence Neighborhood Planting Program (PNPP) and Partnership for Providence Parks (P3) are inviting community groups across the city to “adopt” and nurture young tree and shrub seedlings until they are ready to go out into Providence’s sidewalks, parks and green spaces! Once they grow big enough, we’ll collect them to be planted in their “forever homes” across Providence’s neighborhoods with the fewest trees, where they’ll keep us nice and cool as temperatures rise—and where you can visit them and watch them grow for years to come. This is a great opportunity for classrooms, libraries, rec centers, community gardens, and other community centers that have a little bit of space, access to water, and willing year-round caretakers of baby trees and shrubs!
TO PARTICIPATE AS A SAPLING STEWARD SITE YOU’LL NEED TO:
- Be a community group or individual excited to help nurture and grow a piece of Providence’s future urban forest!
- Have an outdoor space available that:
- Is a minimum of ~15-20 sq feet in size (Layout is flexible: this could be one 2×10 strip, or two 1×5 strips, or a 4×5 corner of a yard, or any other configuration!) The seedlings can either go into temporary nursery planting beds, or be stored in pots/containers.
- Is out of the way/protected from active foot and vehicle traffic
- Has easy water access on site (e.g. an outdoor spigot or hose)
- The seedling trees can live and grow in for at least 1 year (preferablly 2!)
- Have community members/volunteers who are regularly around/on site, and able to keep an eye on the trees and make sure the seedlings get watered at least twice a week throughout the growing season (from planting time in the Spring through at least mid-October)
- Keep in touch with the project organizers about how your trees are doing!
If you are a community Sapling Steward site, project partners will provide you with all the technical support, knowledge and supplies you need to take care of your baby trees!
If your group is willing and able to tend to a batch of baby trees and shrubs, fill out the form to the left, and one of the project partners will be in touch with more details and to talk next steps!
The Sapling Stewardship project is made possible by generous funding from:
