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

Delaware’s Urban and Community Forestry Program is dedicated to preserving and enhancing Delaware’s community forests, which play a critical role in our quality of life. The trees in our cities and communities are a vital component of our forests as they provide a wide array of benefits including cleaner air and water, wildlife habitat, temperature moderation, and aesthetics.

Through a federal grant, the Delaware Forest Service offers up to $50,000 each year to communities throughout the state for tree planting, tree care, and tree management projects on publicly owned lands. The local community or organization must match these grants with either non-federal funds or in-kind services (volunteer time, staff time, etc.).

The Delaware Urban and Community Forestry Program’s competitive grants are open to all municipalities, community associations, and certified 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations within the State of Delaware. Grants range from a minimum of $500 to a maximum of $5,000 in one of two project categories: tree planting or tree management. All applications require a 50-50 cost-share match in either cash or in-kind services within program guidelines.

Applications are limited to one project in one project category and 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 is given to first time applicants, Tree Friendly Communities, and applicants that have passed an Urban Tree Canopy Goal Resolution (only applies to Municipalities).

• 2018 Grant Requirements and Application (PDF)  (Word)
• 2018 Volunteer Tracker Form (Excel)

Completed applications should be mailed to:
Delaware Forest Service
Urban and Community Forestry Grant Program
2320 S. DuPont Highway
Dover, DE 19901

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