Urban and Community Forestry Program

Delaware’s Urban and Community Forestry Program offers a range of technical and financial assistance programs to help municipalities, nonprofit groups, community associations, and homeowners to plant and care for their trees.

The Delaware Forest Service has full-time forestry staff who assist cities, towns, and communities with the management and care of their urban forestry resources. These foresters can help guide your community in developing a management plan for its publicly owned forests (such as city or county parks, street trees, etc.). Foresters are able to do sick tree calls, answer tree questions, and make species and placement recommendations. Our staff also works with developers, planners, and engineers to help educate these individuals on methods to preserve trees during the development process. Your trees are a valued resource; don’t trust their care to just anybody. Hire an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certified arborist. An ISA-certified arborist is specially trained to care for individual trees.

Tree work should only be done by those properly insured, trained,and equipped to work safely in trees.

Find an ISA-certified arborist

Urban and Community Grant Program

The Delaware Urban and Community Forestry Program offers annual grants up to $5,000 for tree planting projects on public land or to help communities complete a professional tree inventory. The competitive grants – open to all municipalities, homeowner associations, and certified 501(c)(3) non-profits in the State of Delaware – require a 50-50 match in either cash (non-federal funds) or in-kind services, which includes volunteer or staff time, equipment rental, or supplies. Requests can range from a minimum of $500 to a maximum of $5,000 in one of two project categories: tree planting or tree management (professional tree inventory only).

NEW: The Urban and Community Forestry Tree Grant Dashboard page provides a visual overview of the history of Delaware’s tree grants. Since its inception, the grant program has awarded 566 grants totaling more than $1.75 million resulting in the planting of more than 13,000 trees. For an interactive dashboard to view the history of the program as well as the locations and dates of specific grant projects, go to: http://de.gov/treegrantdashboard.

The comprehensive database can list charts of the grants by year, county, and legislative district. The map to the right of the dashboard also allows viewers to zoom in to various parts of the state and then view specific projects by clicking on the blue dot.

This year’s deadline was March 1, 2019.  No applications are being accepted at this time. 

Thanks to federal funding, the program awarded more than $92,000 for 24 tree projects in 2019.

Applications are judged on a competitive basis by a grant committee of the Delaware Community Forestry Council. Eligible projects must be performed on public lands within the community. Priority will be given to first time applicants, Tree Friendly Communities, and applicants that have passed an Urban Tree Canopy Goal Resolution (only applies to Municipalities). Complete details at delawaretrees.com.

“Community forests are critical to our quality of life. Trees provide cleaner air and water, wildlife habitat, lower energy costs, natural beauty, and improved property values. The Delaware Forest Service’s urban grant program is designed to help communities harness these many benefits. Tree projects can generate positive and lasting effects for years to come while also bringing residents and volunteers together to make their communities more livable and enjoyable,” said Kesha Braunskill, the Delaware Forest Service urban and community forestry program director.

2019 Guidelines and Forms

• 2019 Grant Requirements and Application (PDF) (Word)
• 2019 Volunteer Tracker Form (Excel)
• Final Signature Page – Required (Word)

Resource Links

• Recommended Trees web page
• Recommended Trees for Delaware (PDF)

Core Requirements

• Grant requests from a minimum of $500 to maximum of $5,000
• Only one project submission in one category: tree planting or tree management (inventory)
• Project must take place on public land or community open space
• Applicants must have an Employer Identification Number (EIN) – no payment will be made to individuals.
• All applicants must schedule a site visit before submitting project

Urban Forestry Program Contacts

• Contact: Urban and Community Program Director Kesha Braunskill at kesha.braunskill@delaware.gov

As part of its mission, several informative publications, resources, and links are available to help with proper planning and developing effective strategies for tree planting, care, and management.

• Delaware Municipal Tree Canopy Maps
• Online GIS Tree Canopy Tool 
• Tree Owners’ Manual
• Trees and Ice Storms