Communities across the country have the opportunity to apply for part of $1 billion in grant funding to plant trees and increase green spaces in their urban areas, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced April 12.

The grants will "increase equitable access to trees and green spaces in urban and community forests where more than 84% of Americans live, work and play," USDA states in the news release. The funding is part of the $1.5 billion invested in the USDA's Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry (UCF) program from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. 

The UCF is part of President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, "which aims to ensure that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved and lack access to trees and nature," the news release states.

“This program is yet another way that the Biden-Harris Administration is investing in America and ensuring that all people, regardless of ZIP code or neighborhood, have equitable access to the benefits that trees and green spaces provide,” said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Vilsack highlighted the benefits grant-funded green spaces could have on local communities, including creating jobs in tree planting and maintenance, reducing heat stress on the area and promote environmental justice by mitigating the impact of climate change on historically underserved and underprivileged urban communities which lack tree cover and green spaces, "while giving kids more safe spaces to play outdoors."

The grants are available to community-based organizations, tribes, municipal and state governments, nonprofit partners, universities and other eligible entities, according to the news release, to support their efforts to increase tree cover in urban areas and promote equitable access to nature.

“Research shows that trees and green spaces improve physical and mental health outcomes and create new economic opportunities,” Homer Wilkes, USDA Undersecretary for Natural Resources and the Environment, said in the release. “They also enhance community green spaces and support lasting community relationships and engagements. These funds will enable us to bring these benefits to disadvantaged communities across the nation, and to support new partnerships with a diverse array of organizations.”