Detroit’s General Service Department is looking to increase the tree canopy across the city to improve citizens’ quality of life. The department is accepting requests from residents for tree plantings in their neighborhoods.

The free program is open to residents and small businesses to plant a tree on the berm in front of their property.

Savion Stephens, tree planting program manager for the city of Detroit, says trees can help improve residents’ quality of life.

“And what that looks like is improving air quality over time, conserving water, reducing soil erosion, filtering runoff, reducing flooding, and even things like lowering energy costs and raising property values,” he said.

Trees are also known to trap pollutants such as dirt, ash, pollen and smoke which can help those with asthma.

Stephens says the city plants over 50 different species of tree throughout the city.

“They’re primarily urban tolerant trees for public and private property, including some native species like oak and elm,” he said.

The planting process involves three phases: utility marking, tree location marking, and tree planting. Eligibility for a tree is assessed based on site conditions, including utility lines and soil quality.

The city has planted up to 14,000 trees annually through this program.

Residents who would like to request a tree must fill out this form.

Detroit’s five reasons to plant a tree

1. Clean air. Trees absorb pollutants and improve air quality, reducing respiratory issues.
2. Cooler summer. A single tree can lower temperatures by up to 10°, providing shade and cutting cooling costs.
3. Stronger neighborhoods. Tree-lined streets increase property values and create a more welcoming community.
4. Flood prevention. Trees absorb excess rainwater, reducing the risk of street flooding.
5. Wildlife Habitat. Trees support birds, bees, and other beneficial wildlife, keeping our ecosystem balanced.

A once-forgotten cluster of vacant lots on Detroit’s west side is now home to Circle Forest, a community-led reforestation project created by the nonprofit Arboretum Detroit. Co-director Andrew “Birch” Kemp says the space, made up of 12 formerly vacant lots, was transformed from illegal dumping grounds into an accessible public green space.

“We cleared out like 60 yards of garbage and did a tree assessment, pulled out invasives, planted 200 native trees,” Kemp said. “It’s a park where there wasn’t a park.”

Now, neighbors and visitors can walk more than a mile through a continuous green corridor woven through backyards and hidden blocks that were once overgrown and avoided.

Kemp says the group’s philosophy is about honoring what already exists, rather than starting from scratch.

“I’m not mad at any tree out here because they’ve been providing shade for decades before I got here,” he said. “So who am I to come through and just decide you have to go?”

The project, which includes programming, nature walks, and a tree nursery, is one example of ongoing grassroots movements to restore native ecosystems and increase access to nature in Detroit’s neighborhoods and beyond. 

More from WDET:

• Local nonprofit aims to plant Detroit’s first-ever forest of giant sequoia trees
• Detroit’s tree canopy is growing, despite federal funding cuts
• Massive flooding in Southwest Detroit may have affected trees

The nonprofit Greening of Detroit says the severe flooding caused by a recent water main break in Southwest Detroit may have affected the trees there, but they won’t know until May or June.

The Greening of Detroit plants city-tolerant trees that can sustain conditions like heavy pollution and flooding from clogged storm drains — or in this case — a water main break. The nonprofit planted nearly 250 trees in Southwest Detroit in 2021.

Fai Foen, director of green infrastructure at the Greening of Detroit, said the group chose urban tolerant trees to protect them from issues like this.

“We plant trees in Southwest and other parts of the city that might be exposed to pollution, air pollution, whether it’s manufacturing or a highway,” she said.

Foen says people are more of a danger to trees than the environment.

“You know, like, if it’s in a park, you know, the kids see the branch there may grab it. Or, like you can’t control for all the individuals that walk by a tree and just want to give it a good grab,” Foen said. “And I think the hidden trees that are being mown and maybe nicked at the base of the tree causes damage, but it’s like a death from like 1,000 cuts over a longer period of time.”

Foen said the flooding did not last long enough to have a lasting effect on the trees. But they won’t know for sure how much they were affected until the trees wake from their dormant period.

American Forests, the nation’s oldest conservation nonprofit, says Detroit has planted 25,000 trees since launching a local tree equity partnership in 2021 —part of a broader plan to plant 75,000 by 2027.

Benita Hussain, chief program officer of American Forests’ Tree Equity Program, says the initiative targets neighborhoods with fewer trees and higher exposure to extreme heat and respiratory illness.

“We’re talking about planting and maintaining trees in places where they historically have not existed,” Hussain said.

The program has been supported by federal funding through the Inflation Reduction Act, which directed $1.5 billion to urban forestry initiatives nationwide. American Forests received $50 million of that funding, which Hussein says is being deployed in cities across the Midwest, including Southeast Michigan and Metro Detroit.

However, recent changes by the Trump administration have led to the cancellation of several federal environmental justice grants, including those increasing urban forestry in the U.S.

Hussain acknowledged the “turbulence” coming from the federal level but said the organization remains committed to its work.

“We are certainly keeping an eye on all of the different sort of guidance and turbulence… and we’re in it with all of our partners,” she said.

The Detroit partnership includes local conservation groups like the Greening of Detroit. Hussain says the effort also includes training 500 Detroiters in tree care and maintenance to ensure the long-term health of the city’s growing canopy.