The Million Tree Initiative refers to the ongoing environmental projects that multiple cities have individually committed to, aimed at increasing the

urban forest An urban forest is a forest, or a collection of trees, that grow within a city, town or a suburb. In a wider sense, it may include any kind of woody plant vegetation growing in and around human settlements. As opposed to a forest park, whose ec ...

through the planting of one million trees. Cities that are known to be currently involved in this initiative are:

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, and

Amherst, New York Amherst () is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. Amherst is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. As of 2020, the town had a total population of 129,595. This represents an increase from 122,366 as reported in the 2010 census. The second ...

. A common motive shared between these participating cities is, according to their mission statements, the reduction of carbon dioxide in the air to reduce the

effects of global warming The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice (glaciers), sea lev ...

History

In May 2006, Mayor

Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; né Villar Jr.; born January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillar ...

made Million Trees LA one of his campaign promises. The Los Angeles project is funded by a mix of federal money and municipal funding, charities, and corporate donations. It was one of among forty winners from 200 nominees to obtain a

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...

(EPA) Environmental Award in 2009. The Mile High Million, an initiative started by then Mayor

John Hickenlooper John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. (; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd governor of Colorado from 2011 to 20 ...

, is a similar program in Denver, Colorado. This was announced by Hickenlooper in his 2006 State of the City Address. On April 22, 2007, Mayor Michael Bloomberg revealed goals of planting one million trees by 2017 as part of

PlaNYC PlaNYC was a strategic plan released by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2007 to prepare the city for one million more residents, strengthen the economy, combat climate change, and enhance the quality of life for all New Yorkers. The plan ...

, a plan designed for the sustainability of New York City.The City of New York (April 22, 2007)
MAYOR BLOOMBERG PRESENTS PLANYC: A GREENER, GREATER NEW YORK
Retrieved February 28, 2011. In the same year, China began its own tree planting program for Shanghai, with the same goal for one million trees. The million trees program began in London in 2011.

Benefits

References

External links

Whatcom Million Trees Project - Bellingham, Washington, USAMillion Trees LAMillion Trees DenverMillion Trees NYCMillion Trees ShanghaiMillion Trees - London, OntarioPlant A Million Tree - Pune, India
{{Forestry Environmental policy in the United States Environment of Greater Los Angeles Trees of New York City Environment of Canada Urban forestry Reforestation Forestry initiatives