Our Mission
The Cleveland Tree Coalition (CTC) is a collaborative group of public, private, and community stakeholders. We’ve partnered with the City of Cleveland to rebuild our urban forest using the Cleveland Tree Plan as our guide. The Cleveland Tree Canopy Goal aims to increase the city’s urban tree canopy cover from 18% to 30% by the year 2040. The coalition strives to create a healthy, vibrant, sustainable, and equitable urban forest by working collaboratively and leveraging resources.
Together, we’re reforesting The Forest City.
Community members planting new trees (2023).
Why Trees?
History of the Cleveland Tree Coalition
In 2015, the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, Holden Arboretum, LAND Studio, and the Western Reserve Land Conservancy funded the creation of the Cleveland Tree Plan. The plan outlined a road to reforesting the Forest City through collective impact. Out of this plan, the Cleveland Tree Coalition formed to coordinate efforts and leverage resources.
In 2017, on Arbor Day, the Cleveland Tree Coalition announced the Cleveland Tree Canopy Goal, a proposal to grow Cleveland’s urban tree canopy cover from 19% to 30% by 2040. To kickstart tree our tree planting goal, we proposed planting 50,000 trees by 2020.
Our document, Reforesting The Forest City: The Cleveland Tree Canopy Goal, provides more detail about the rationale behind the Cleveland Tree Canopy Goal, explaining how it aligns with 2015 Cleveland Tree Plan. It also details how, at 30% tree canopy cover, trees would provide a wealth of benefits to people who live, work, and play in Cleveland—benefits valued at $44 million per year.
For the past ten years, the Coalition has grown to more than 50 members, four working committees, and an executive committee representing eight anchor institutions.
A greenway and downtown Cleveland.
Tree canopy refers to the part of a city that is shaded by trees. If you were a bird flying high above Cleveland, you could look down over the city. The tree leaves and branches covering the ground is our tree canopy.
Cleveland was once nicknamed The Forest City, but since the 1950’s, the city has lost about half its tree canopy. The current canopy cover is 18% and each year an estimated 75 acres of tree canopy is lost. At this rate, canopy will drop to 14% by 2040 unless we act now. A healthy canopy cover is about 40%.
Trees are a critical piece of our community. Trees make us healthier and safer, add economic value to our homes and businesses, help us meet environmental challenges, and provide critical wildlife habitat. Cleveland is in the midst of citywide neighborhood revitalization to improve the quality of life for all citizens and improving tree canopy is an important element in that transformation.