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The Chicago Region Trees Initiative provides the expertise and tools for you to become a tree advocate.

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Communities and individuals have the power to make a difference for trees.

The Chicago Region Trees Initiative provides the expertise and tools for you to become a tree advocate. Communities and individuals have the power to make a difference for trees.

Why advocate for trees?

Simply stated, advocacy makes a difference.

Threats facing trees range from climate change and invasive pests to development and shrinking government budgets. It takes concerted efforts from individuals, organizations, and communities to advocate for the protection of trees and forests. These efforts can advance broad-ranging policies and practices that support the protection and growth of mature trees and forests to provide the benefits and services we need.

An advocate is a “person who publicly supports a cause of policy” (Oxford Dictionary). To be a tree advocate you need to know about and communicate issues that impact trees and to support policies and practices that protect and improve their health. Advocates need to share their knowledge with others by talking to neighbors, elected officials, businesses, and the media about key issues.

Municipal leadership also has a very important role to play in protecting trees.

Six threats facing trees

Trees face many threats; below are five key threats facing trees today.

  1. Invasive species: The emerald ash borer pest and buckthorn tree are two examples of invasive species that reduce the health and diversity of the Chicago region tree canopy. In the Chicago region, buckthorn now makes up 36% of total tree stems. According to 2020 Chicago Region Tree Census data, the estimated number of live ash trees decreased by 10 million over the last decade. This catastrophic loss is largely due to the emerald ash borer.
  2. Shrinking government budgets: With more strain on government budgets, hard-pressed officials may cut funds allocated to tree planting and maintenance.
  3. Development: New large-scale development may clear-cut mature trees, but smaller projects can also have an impact. Widening streets because of changed traffic patterns, replacing single-family homes with apartment buildings, and redeveloping established business parks can shrink tree canopy.
  4. Lack of proper care: Trees need proper care to thrive and grow. Newly planted trees need frequent watering during the first few years of their establishment period in order to grow into mature trees. They need routine pruning to reduce damaged and downed branches after storm events. Trees are also often unintentionally mulched incorrectly (volcano mulching), leaving trees vulnerable to disease and other threats.
  5. Losing mature trees faster than new ones can grow: Many of the environmental and economic benefits trees provide don’t reach maximum potential until the tree matures, and maturity can take awhile. When mature trees come down and a newly planted sapling is planted in its place those benefits will not be replaced for years to come.
  6. Climate change: As temperatures and storm events intensify and increase, trees will experience increased stress  and may have difficulty adapting and surviving. Warmer winters can also support new pests and prevent harmful pests from dying off, expanding the potential to damage trees.

You don’t need to be a tree expert to be a successful tree advocate.

You don’t need to be a tree expert to be a successful tree advocate.

Some people are inspired to become tree advocates because of a personal connection to or love of trees. Some are inspired by a specific moment, such as witnessing the destruction of an impressive tree or reading an article in a newspaper.

But what do you do when that inspiration hits? How can you turn inspiration into advocacy action?

If you are interested in advocating for trees, determining your goal and the type of advocacy you would like to engage in is a good place to start. Begin by reflecting on the following:

What is your goal?

Are you trying to save one specific tree or generally increase how much your community values trees? Are you trying to change your town’s tree policies or increase budgets for tree plantings and maintenance? From your answers to these questions and others you can start to determine the audience for your advocacy.

What type of tree advocacy would you like to engage in?

Do you want to organize groups or participate in existing groups? Do you want to write private letters or speak at public meetings? Are you interested in increasing education about the value of trees and how to care for them? Are you interested in government advocacy or building community support? Your answers to these questions influence the type of advocacy to pursue.

Determine which type of advocacy is right for you.

Regardless of your current comfort level or skill set, there is a tree advocacy path for you. All of the types of advocacy listed below are important and can play a role in improving tree health.

Types of advocacy, how they work, and why they’re important

Accordion List

  • In many cases, municipal staff have direct knowledge of the issue that you are concerned about. They are the people who implement legislative decisions, issue permits, and manage budgets. Municipal staff can often answer direct questions, or at least point you in the right direction for an answer. Understanding how your government structure works can enhance how you communicate your goals. In general, a planning department advises elected officials on projects and actions that include development on public and private property. The public works department advises elected officials on projects and actions that impact existing public property. Public works also takes direct action on public property, such as road repairs and  sidewalk replacements. Because your municipality’s staff are the people implementing tree ordinances, it is important that they hear from you about real-life tree situations.

  • As elected officials, these people have the ability to make lasting changes to codes, laws, permits, and budgets that can drastically change how your community takes care of trees. In a democracy, elected officials represent you and need to hear from constituents to know what they care about. Also, because constituent feedback is important to these elected officials, there are often systems and processes in place to encourage public comment and opinions.

  • Communities typically have regular public meetings, processes, and input sessions as part of the decision-making process. Often, it is mandatory that the community host public meetings and post the agendas publicly beforehand. You can check the agenda to see if there is something you would like to comment on. By simply showing up at the public meeting, you can learn a lot about what is happening in your community and why some decisions are made. Many public meeting hosts provide opportunities to write comments or questions down on paper; some distribute surveys for participants to fill out. Public meetings often also offer an opportunity for residents to voice questions or make comments. If you intend to make a public comment, it can be helpful to prepare your brief (two- to three-minute) comment in advance. This will ensure that you say what you intended to say and don’t get sidetracked by the crowd or other people’s comments.

  • Before new laws are passed, some communities seek public comments. There is often an online form to complete. This will make your comments part of the official public record. Tree advocacy comments can be helpful during budgeting periods, discussions about specific legislation, or bills, and debates about zoning or development permit requirements or processes.

    Public comments should be short and follow the community’s guidelines and requirements. Not all public meetings allow public comment. Contact your community and ask about the process for public comment so you are prepared and ready when comments are requested.

  • Both print and online editions of local newspapers typically have an opinion section. You can submit a short letter to the editor about any issue, but they are more likely to be printed when the letter is in direct response to an article that was recently printed in that paper. For example, say your community’s city council is voting on the next budget proposal, and the newspaper wrote a story about the upcoming vote. You could write a letter to the editor about how important it is that funding for tree maintenance is included in the budget.

    Letters to the editor should be short and follow all of that newspaper’s letter submission guidelines, which you can find online.

  • Depending on your local community’s rules, your town government may plant and maintain trees that are on public land, but they may have no authority over trees on private land. Many communities do regulate trees on private land, but applicable codes may be located in a zoning or development ordinance, depending on the situation.

    There are many trees on private land. An important form of tree advocacy is encouraging friends and neighbors to properly care for the trees they have—which includes everything from correct pruning to using mulch properly. If you are comfortable doing so, share tree maintenance information with neighbors and homeowners’ associations. Persuade your homeowners’ association to devote more money to tree planting and maintenance. Work with neighbors to encourage them to attend public meetings with you.

Community leaders can help protect trees.

Encourage stewardship

Communities can educate and encourage citizens to protect trees. Community members who understand the problems trees face in cities and suburbs are more likely to lend a hand. For example, communities can:

  • Create your own certified arboretum for your neighborhood block, community garden, school campus, park district, or business through the ArbNet accreditation program.
  • Build a community volunteer program. This Tree Tool provides a simple outline to assist you in establishing a volunteer program in your community.
  • Encourage your town to become a Tree City USA through the Arbor Day Foundation.
  • Develop a Tree Board or Tree Commission where a community dialogue can focus on trees. The National Arbor Day Foundation has developed a series of lessons that can be used to develop an educated Tree Board or Commission, called Tree Board University.
  • Participate in Chicago Region Tree Initiative’s Community Tree Network.
  • Hold workshops on issues facing the community forest and the benefits its trees provide.
  • Offer hands-on learning opportunities about the care and management of trees.
  • Place short informative articles in local newsletters or social media.
  • Use iTree’s My Tree Tool to calculate the benefits of your trees in monetary values. This information can be used in discussion with stakeholders while advocating for trees.
  • Look up your Community’s Canopy Summary Packet and learn how you can support the tree canopy in your community.
  • Get in touch with your local Openlands Tree Keepers chapter, a community of tree ambassadors who care for trees in the Chicago region.

Enact laws

Municipalities can practice tree advocacy by enacting legislation through tree preservation ordinances. These laws guide preservation, protection, maintenance, and replacement of a community’s trees. Other resources include:

Planning ahead

A tree management plan, like a municipal stormwater, street, or sewer management plan, protects the important infrastructure.

  • Tree Management Plans provide guidance for city staff on how to develop and write forestry management plans.

Deciding who to contact and when is an important part of engaging tree advocacy.

When you have a particular tree advocacy issue in mind, how do you know who to contact? It depends on the issue and how your city government is structured.

Some governments have forestry departments and arborists who handle all tree issues. Other governments house their tree maintenance and planting programs within planning or public works departments. While we’ve identified some Chicago-area tree programs, you can usually find your community’s department by Googling the name of your town with the word “trees.” If that doesn’t work, try calling your town clerk or administrator.

Here are some general guidelines for figuring out who to contact:

  • Possible contacts: Is the tree on private property? Talk to the home or business owner. Is the tree on a parkway (the grassy area between the sidewalk and street) or other public property? Talk to your town’s public works, planning, or forestry department.

    When to contact them: Once a tree is tagged for removal, it might be too late to save that tree. When a community develops its tree management plan, there may be a public comment period or another opportunity to voice your opinion on the value of saving mature trees and planting new ones. Check out your community’s plan now, so you can be prepared for the future.

    It is possible that the tree removal in question is legal under your community’s ordinances, and public comment does result in the tree being saved. In these situations, it is important to use this case as an example for future advocacy and insist on more platforms for community engagement, such as a Tree Board or Tree Commission. The National Arbor Day Foundation provides lessons on how to start a Tree Board at Tree Board University.

  • Possible contacts: City council representatives and other elected officials are in charge of creating the budgets that dictate how many trees will be planted, trimmed, or removed in a given year. Make sure they know how important healthy tree canopies are to you and your neighbors. Consider testifying at public budget meetings, submitting letters to elected officials, gathering petition signatures from your neighbors, and writing editorials to your local paper. Make sure decision makers hear your message.

    When to contact them: Community budgets are often projected years in advance. So advocating for tree funding now might have an impact three years from now. Visit your community’s website to find out when the budgeting process takes place and when public comment opportunities are available.

Frequently asked questions

Below are some common tree-related questions and answers to help you take action.

  • Explanation: Tree marking can mean different things in different communities, and sometimes indicate that a tree is marked for removal or trimming. Trees often need to be removed because they are dead or dying, or because they are infested by an invasive species, such as the emerald ash borer. Once a tree is marked for removal, depending on the reason it is being removed, it may be too late to save it, although it never hurts to contact your community and ask!

    Tree removal decisions are often made months in advance of actual removal. If you can’t save this particular tree, consider using your efforts to advocate for tree policies that nurture trees instead of cutting them down.

    Advocacy action:  Not all trees can, or should, be saved. It’s possible that the tree marked for removal needs to be removed for health and safety reasons. You need to find out more information about this particular tree.

    First, be sure to know the address and location of the tree in question.

    Then, contact your town or municipality’s public works or forestry department and ask for details about the markings on that particular tree. (Keep in mind the tree may not be owned or managed by the municipality so be prepared to ask who does own the tree and who you should contact, e.g. park district, county, townships, etc.)

    Consider asking the following questions:

    What does the ribbon or marking mean?

    Why is it being taken down?

    What can I do to prevent the tree from being taken down?

    What is the plan for replacing this tree with new trees?

    How can I find out about other trees set to be removed before they are marked?

    Tree preservation ordinances that apply to your area may be enacted at the local or county level, and can be found in tree preservation, zoning, or stormwater ordinances. It is possible that the tree removal in question is legal under your community’s ordinances, and public comment does result in the tree being saved. In these situations, it is important to use this occurrence as an example for future advocacy and insist on more platforms for community engagement, such as a Tree Board, or Tree Commission. The National Arbor Day Foundation provides lessons on how to start a Tree Board at Tree Board University.

  • Explanation: Many communities have requirements for replacing trees that have been removed. Replacement does not always have to be in the same spot as the tree that was removed. Some communities dictate the minimum size, location, and type of tree that can be used to replace removed trees. Some communities give homeowners the chance to select replacement street trees in front of their property from a predetermined species list.

    Tree replacement ordinances also often apply to builders and developers who remove trees during the construction process.

    While the removal of any one tree can be sad, the long-term goal is for our communities to have healthy and expansive tree canopies. By setting up a tree management plan, communities can ensure they will have trained professionals to care for trees, will plant diverse species, and will have the funds for tree maintenance and planning.

    Advocacy action: One way to preserve trees and promote a healthy tree canopy is through tree preservation ordinances. These laws guide preservation, protection, maintenance, and replacement of a community’s trees. They also can protect the public from trees that pose a threat or danger due to disease or hazard conditions.

    Visit the public works or forestry department section on your community’s website and search for “tree ordinance.” Once you know what is in the tree ordinance, you can contact your city council representative, staff of the public works department, or other officials to advocate for better policies that promote a healthy tree canopy.

    The Chicago Region Trees Initiative can help with drafting such ordinances. Check out these Ordinance Templates from CRTI.

  • Explanation: Some communities have developed tree maintenance and removal plans that include tree canopy goals, guidelines for tree care, instructions for selecting trees, and timelines for tree trimming cycles.

    Advocacy action: Contact your community’s public works, planning, or forestry departments and ask for information on the tree maintenance plan. If your community does not have a plan, this could be a great goal for your advocacy efforts.

    CRTI can supply an Urban Forest Management Plan template. You can also use the Urban Forest Management Plan Tool Kit created by the Inland Urban Forest Council to get started

  • Explanation: A neighborhood typically has both private property—individual yards—and public property, such as parkways.

    To increase your neighborhood’s tree canopy, try talking to and sharing resources with neighbors. The Morton Arboretum’s Plant Clinic provides resources to help landowners to select trees that are right for the space and to learn proper tree maintenance.

    If your neighborhood has a homeowner’s association (HOA), consider advocating for tree plantings and maintenance to be part of your association’s annual landscape plan.

    Advocacy action: To increase the number of trees planted on public property, such as the parkway, contact your community’s public works, planning, or forestry department to find out if there is a tree planting plan in place for your neighborhood.

    If there is no plan in place, work with staff and elected officials to get one. CRTI provides a template for forestry management plans at Tree Management Plan Template.

    To build support for the development of a tree management plan for your neighborhood, consider having your HOA or neighborhood write a group letter or attend a public meeting together. More voices are louder than one!

  • Explanation: Most communities have a franchise agreement with the electric company. This agreement stipulates when a landowner needs to be warned of an upcoming tree pruning. This could be an opportunity to work with the electric company to get an appropriate tree species planted under the electric lines so that electric service is not disrupted and so that the trees are not mutilated to protect power lines.

    Advocacy action: It is important to advocate for planting the right tree in the right place. While this conflict may be unavoidable in the short term, it is possible for your community to implement tree species restrictions into your policies so that trees are not planted under or near electric utility lines unless they are smaller tree species. Planting the right tree in the right place can help avoid conflicts with electric companies in the future. The Chicago Region Trees Initiative can help with drafting such policies. Check out these Ordinance Templates from CRTI.

  • Explanation: Tree issues are complicated and often involve a lot of stakeholders with different goals. While members of CRTI likely cannot speak for your specific situation, there are many resources available to help you advocate for your trees in your community.

    Advocacy action: Read and share the CRTI Municipal Canopy Summary packets with your elected officials. These summaries describe your community’s canopy coverage based on the most recently available data. They describe how your community compares to areas around you, the economic benefits of your existing trees, and how much plantable space there is in your community. You can also use the Tree Risk Toolkit, which includes introduction letters to your elected officials and a video about the benefits of trees.

  • Explanation: The CRTI equips and encourages citizens to advocate for trees by providing science-based tree expertise, insight on key issues facing trees, and resources for communities and individuals. Due to the sheer number of challenges facing trees, the Chicago Region Trees Initiative can have the greatest impact by equipping citizens with the knowledge and tools to advocate for trees in their communities.

    Advocacy action: Become a tree advocate! Help us improve the health of the Chicago region by becoming a tree advocate in your community, helping to educate your neighbors and elected officials, forming a tree board, volunteering in your community to help plant and care for trees, donating to support tree planting in under-resourced communities, or joining a CRTI work group.

    Contact us at CRTI@mortonarb.org and let us know how we can help you be an informed advocate for trees!

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