American Forests

🌳 Exciting Tech Innovations for Conservation!    Co-written by American Forests' Tree Equity Alliance Senior Director, Alana Tucker, AICP, check out these 5 tech tools revolutionizing conservation planning and urban green projects! From tree canopy disparities to biodiversity data, these innovations are helping us create healthier, more resilient cities. At American Forests, we're thrilled to see technology driving positive environmental change. 🌱   Read more: https://lnkd.in/ejytMXyg

Forest restoration is crucial for combating climate change and preserving biodiversity. 🌲 🌿 That’s why we're committed to reforestation efforts that rebuild resilient ecosystems and provide habitat for countless species. Learn more 👇 https://bit.ly/3plVAsW

I suspect many people don’t realize just how innovative and far reaching the sustainability leadership is in the forest sector, particularly among our landowners and forest products companies. This includes a deep commitment to #Forests4Climate that I have personally seen working side by side in coalitions like the Forest Climate Working Group . Weyerhaeuser is a great example of this leadership in action. Worth a read!

It’s only mid-July and already, hundreds of wildfires are burning across the U.S. While smaller, low severity fires can benefit the landscape, large destructive fires are reducing entire forests to ashes. We need modern policies to return resilient forests to our landscapes. Learn more about our strategy and policy agenda for restoring America’s forests: https://bit.ly/3zJ1nOl

#ExtremeHeat is a pressing issue that disproportionately affects marginalized communities. 🌡️🌿 That's why American Forests, alongside other leading nonprofits, is urging Congress to take immediate action. Through #TreeEquity, we can ensure that everyone has access to the cooling and health benefits of trees. Read more about our call to action and how you can get involved: https://bit.ly/3Wm8S6m

#DYK: just one mature tree 🌳 can capture the same amount of carbon emissions as driving one car 1,500 miles! 🚗 https://bit.ly/3M2f0up

Trees are incredible! Not only do they provide us with oxygen, but they also filter pollutants, reduce energy costs and support wildlife. 🌲🐦 By protecting trees and forests, we protect animals like them👇

From The New York Times: "About 124.1 million people — 38 percent of the population of the contiguous United States — live in the areas expected to have dangerous levels of heat." Terrifying, right? That doesn't come close to telling the full story. Some people in our communities will be at MUCH greater risk due to pre-existing health conditions, less heat resilient homes, lack of AC or the ability to afford fully running the AC they have, and other societal determinants of heat risk. If that inequity were not concerning enough, in these same communities where people are already most at risk it will also be hotter this week. MUCH hotter. With Tree Equity Score (TreeEquityScore.org) we have proof. Our data show that across America, the neighborhoods with the highest levels of people in poverty, for example, have on average 26% less 🌳 cover and are on average 7 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the wealthiest neighborhoods. Tree Equity Score data go neighborhood by neighborhood for urban areas nationwide, and you can quickly see many neighborhoods where the additional heat load is way higher than this average--some low tree cover neighborhoods can be nearly 20 degrees F hotter than the citywide average on the hottest days. That's why American Forests and our partners are fighting for #TreeEquity so our neighborhoods most at risk from heat can get Nature's AC going full blast. It's one VITAL part of a larger equitable & climate-safe cooling strategy that must also include clean forms of AC that reach more homes, passive cooling, community response, and much more. The best time to prepare our communities for climate-fueled heat was 20 years ago. The second best time is right now. Let's do it every day like lives are on the line, because they are. https://lnkd.in/e-nJ4mpC

I am incredibly honored to be joining the team at American Forests as the Tree Equity Ambassador, working with the Policy and Partnerships team to galvanize a movement for every community rural and urban to have equitable access to the multitude of positive health and wellbeing benefits that come with increased access to tree canopy cover and healthy and resilient trees. A special thank you to Jad Daley for being a great inspiration and making this all possible! If our society was a tree it is time to ensure that every root and every branch of our body is receiving the level of investment and care as all others. To support the brilliant work of American Forests, get involved through the action center which has accessible ways for you to support this work from learning best practices for tree planting and writing a letter to Congress to conservation and tree equity. Let's get to work!! #TreeEquity