Trees and forestry

About the healthy tree canopy grants

Hennepin County has grants available to cities, affordable housing properties, schools, and non-profit organizations to enhance the county’s tree canopy.

The goals of the program are to combat threats to trees from invasive insects and disease by funding tree planting, educate the public on tree care and the importance of trees, and increase the diversity and resiliency of the tree canopy.

Types of grants available

Different types of grants are available to cities, affordable housing properties, and schools and non-profit organizations.

See the healthy tree canopy grants flyer (PDF) to learn more about the difference between the grant types.

Cities

For cities with no tree inventory or an incomplete tree inventory:

• Grants are only to complete tree inventories.
• Grants of $1,000 to $5,000 are available, and a 25% match is required.

For cities that have a completed tree inventory and a have a MN DNR certified tree inspector or an ISA-certified arborist under contract for the proposed grant project:

• Grants are to implement tree plantings, maintain newly planted trees, remove and replace ash trees, conduct outreach, develop gravel-bed nurseries and develop tree management plans.
• Grants of $10,000 to $50,000 are available, and a 25% match is required.

See the 2019 healthy tree canopy grant guidelines for cities (PDF) for more information.

Affordable housing

Grants are for ash tree removals and planting replacement trees on affordable housing properties.

Grants are available to new and existing affordable housing properties. Eligible applicants include owners and managers of existing affordable multifamily housing, developers of new affordable multifamily housing, and affordable housing land trusts.

Grants of a minimum of $5,000 up to a maximum of $20,000 are available. A 25% match of the granted amount is required.

See the 2019 healthy tree canopy grant guidelines for affordable housing properties (PDF) for more information.

Schools and nonprofit organizations

Grants are for tree plantings on school or community properties, tree-related education, tree inventories, ash tree removals, and Arbor Day celebrations.

Eligible applications include charter, private, and public schools in Hennepin County. Eligible applicants include administrators, teachers, principals, and facility managers of existing schools. Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations are also eligible to apply.

Grants of a minimum of $1,000 up to a maximum of $10,000 are available. A 25% match is required for ash tree removals. No match required for other expenses.

See the 2019 healthy tree canopy grant guidelines for schools and nonprofit organizations (PDF) for more information.

How to apply

Applications for 2020 healthy tree canopy grants will be accepted in the spring.

Contact us for help with your grant project

Hennepin County foresters are available to help you develop projects and answer any questions related to the grant and application process. Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the forestry team at trees@hennepin.us before applying.

Helpful grant resources

The following resources will be helpful in completing your grant application.

Tree planting priority areas map

The county’s tree planting priorities map factors in both environmental and demographic data. The map uses land cover data and disparity data such as income, housing, and health to understand areas that have lower tree canopy and higher need.

Grant selection will be based, in part, on a comparison of the project locations with the identified priority planting areas.

• Access the online interactive map.
• View a printout of the map (PDF).
• Review the methodology for the map (PDF).

Recommended tree list

Use the county's recommended tree list (XLSX) when developing a planting plan.

The list includes a list of species and notes about their suitability for planting in various locations. A do-not-plant list is also included. 

Grant program updates

Sign up for the Canopy newsletter to get grant program updates.

In October 2023, the county board awarded 25 Healthy Tree Canopy grants totaling about $499,700. Grant projects will take place in thirteen cities, on two affordable housing properties, at five schools, and through five nonprofit organizations, including congregations and neighborhood associations. More than 620 trees will be planted through the grant projects.

The grants will:

• Fund the collection of data through tree inventories, which is critical to increasing and diversifying the tree canopy and starting to respond to emerald ash borer.
• Address the impacts of tree pests and pathogens by improving city forestry capacity and treating or replacing and replanting ash trees that are threatened by emerald ash borer. Grantees are required to plant at least one replacement tree for every ash tree removed.
• Educate residents on the benefits of trees and engage them in tree planting efforts.
• Improve livability and reduce disparities by planting trees in neighborhoods throughout the county experiencing disproportionate amounts of economic, environmental, and health inequities.
• Protect people and increase the county’s resilience to climate change – important goals in the county’s Climate Action Plan – by increasing the benefits that trees provide. These benefits include capturing carbon, reducing air pollution, and taking up stormwater, and providing shade to counteract the urban heat island effect.

Grants awarded to cities

Grants to cities fund tree inventories, help mitigate the effects of tree pests and pathogens, increase the capacity of city forestry programs, educate residents on the benefits of trees and engage them in tree planting efforts, and improve livability by planting trees in neighborhoods that face economic, environmental, and health disparities.

Brooklyn Center

$29,751.79 to remove 13 ash trees, and plant 55 replacement trees.

Brooklyn Park

$50,000 to remove 30 ash trees, stock a gravel-bed nursery with 60 bareroot trees, conduct emerald ash borer education, treat existing ash trees, and hold volunteer tree planting events to replace 30 ash trees.

Champlin

$19,807 to remove 35 ash trees, plant 35 replacement trees, and treat 35 ash trees.

Crystal

$50,000 to remove 10 ash trees and plant 40 replacement trees.

Eden Prairie

$45,269 to remove and replace 42 ash trees and create educational emerald ash borer signage for the public.

Excelsior

$22,596 to plant 27 trees, purchase treatment equipment, and train staff.

Medicine Lake

$5,000 to establish a city-wide tree inventory.

Minnetrista

$7,325 to establish a gravel-bed nursery.

New Hope

$33,000 to plant 75 trees to replace removed ash trees.

Orono

$33,150 to develop an urban tree management plan and an emerald ash borer management plan.

Plymouth

$20,500 to create an urban forest management plan.

St. Anthony

$21,030 to remove 20 ash trees and plant 25 replacement trees.

Wayzata

$24,963.82 to remove 35 ash trees and plant 40 replacement trees.

Grants awarded to affordable housing providers

Grants to affordable housing providers promote a more diverse, resilient, and equitable tree canopy by removing and replacing ash trees and planting new trees.

Boisclair Corporation

$20,000 to remove 10 ash trees and plant 12 replacement trees at Highlands in Bloomington.

Boisclair Corporation

$20,000 to remove 10 ash trees and plant 12 replacement trees at Penn Place in Bloomington.

Grants awarded to nonprofit organizations and schools

Grants to nonprofit organizations and schools are used to engage communities in planting trees, remove and replace ash trees, conduct tree-related education, complete tree inventories, and hold Arbor Day celebrations.

Church of St. Thomas the Apostle

$10,000 to remove 5 ash trees and plant 11 replacement trees

Bloomington Neighbors Nurturing Nature

$10,000 to conduct a tree inventory and create a tree management plan for Bloomington Public Schools

Independent School District 271

$10,000 to plant 43-70 trees on school property in Bloomington.

Independent School District 273

$10,000 to remove 10 ash trees and plant 10 replacement trees at Concord Elementary School in Edina.

Independent School District 273

$10,000 to remove 14 ash trees and plant 14 replacement trees at Normandale Elementary School in Edina.

Independent School District 273

$10,000 to remove 4 ash trees and plant 4 replacement trees at South View Middle School in Edina.

Missions

$9,990 to remove 4 ash trees and plant 6 replacement trees in Plymouth.

Special School District 1

$10,000 to plant 49 trees across 9 different school properties in Minneapolis.

Tree Trust

$10,000 to hold an educational event and plant 30 trees at a Bloomington school.

Vibrant and Safe Downtown

$9,341 to water 250 newly planted trees in Minneapolis.

Hennepin County sells trees each spring to property owners to restore and improve woodland areas and increase wildlife habitat.

Placing an order

The order deadline for the spring 2021 tree sale has passed. The next tree sale will be spring 2022.

Sign up for the Canopy newsletter to receive updates about the county's forestry program, including the next tree sale.

Tree planting and care resources

• Resources for planting trees and seedlings from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
• Guide to choosing the right tree or shrub for the right area from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
• Minnesota Tree Planting Handbook (PDF)

For more information and questions

Contact Shane DeGroy at shane.degroy@hennepin.us if you have questions regarding the tree sale or for more information about tree species, selection, and planting.

Hennepin County plants and maintains trees on sites throughout the county in partnership with cities, libraries, community organization and schools. Planting projects include along county roadways, at county libraries and facilities, at schools and parks, and in natural areas and conservation easements.

Gravel-bed nursery

Most of the trees the county plants come from the county's gravel-bed nursery, located at the Hennepin County Adult Corrections Facility in Plymouth. The gravel-bed nursery gives the county access to hardy, diverse and cost-effective trees for use on county projects and properties.

Every spring, 1,000 young saplings of a variety of species are purchased from commercial nurseries and planted in the gravel-bed. The trees grow and develop a good root structure throughout the summer, and are ready to be transplanted in the fall.

Compared to conventional nursery trees, the gravel-bed nursery gives the county access to a wider diversity of tree species, produces trees that have a good survival rate, and allows the county to plant trees in a more cost-effective manner. The gravel-bed nursery is also helping the county proactively replace ash trees that will ultimately be infested with the emerald ash borer.

Planting projects

Trees from the gravel-bed nursery are transplanted to a variety of county projects and properties.

Examples of planting projects that the county has or is working on include:

• Arbor Day plantings at various locations
• Community locations, including along the Midtown Greenway, at schools and in parks
• Hennepin County facilities and libraries
• Restoration projects in natural areas and conservation easements
• Transportation and transit corridors

Assistance available

If you are looking for assistance with a planting project or are interested in installing a gravel-bed nursery, contact Dustin Ellis at dustin.ellis@hennepin.us or 612-348-2259.

Community Forestry Strategic Plan

The Hennepin County Community Forestry Strategic Plan (PDF) defines goals and objectives that the county’s forestry program will pursue from 2020 to 2025 to protect the county’s tree canopy and increase the benefits that trees provide.

The plan includes more than 50 strategies to achieve the following goals:

• Plant, diversify, and maintain trees throughout Hennepin County
• Increase the resiliency of Hennepin County’s community forest
• Build organizational capacity to support, value, and maintain trees
• Educate and engage residents to become stewards of the community forest

Together, the strategies outlined in this plan will build stronger internal and external partnerships, get more people involved in caring for trees, and increase awareness of the values of trees. They will also establish effective forestry policies, better prepare communities for current and future threats to trees, ensure trees are used to reduce disparities and respond to climate change, and capture success stories that inspire further action. Pursuing all these strategies will create a healthier and more resilient community forest and ensure more equitable opportunities for communities to experience the benefits that trees provide.

Developing the plan

The strategic plan was developed using a participatory planning process that incorporated feedback from both internal and external partners.

Through a series of workshops, county staff developed a vision for the future of the forestry program, recognized potential barriers, identified strategies, and drafted goals.

A meeting with external partners was held to gather feedback on the draft goals and strategies. The meeting had 40 participants representing forestry and public works programs in Hennepin County cities, past recipients of Heathy Tree Canopy grants, state and regional governmental agencies involved in natural resource management, the University of Minnesota, and local nonprofits involved in green space management and education. Key insights from those meetings were incorporated into the plan.

Implementing the plan

Hennepin County foresters are beginning to implement strategies identified in the plan as they carry out their 2021 work plan. The plan will be submitted to the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners for formal adoption along with the updated Natural Resources Strategic Plan later this year.

Hennepin County foresters are interested in discussing partnership opportunities that help meet the goals of the strategic plan or hearing any additional ideas you have. Connect with them by emailing trees@hennepin.us.

Community forestry progress report: 2021

Creating a community forestry program in the Environment and Energy Department was part of the county’s expanded role in natural resource conservation. The forestry program focuses on protecting the county’s tree canopy to increase the benefits that trees provide. Trees improve air quality by absorbing fine particulate matter and other pollutants and protect water by slowing down and infiltrating stormwater runoff. They also provide shade, reduce the urban heat island effect, lower stress, and increase property values.

Aspects of the county’s forestry program include growing healthy trees, partnering in large-scale planting events, managing threats to the tree canopy, raising awareness about tree pests and disease, educating the public on the benefits of trees and supporting partners through the Healthy Tree Canopy Grant program.

Hennepin County foresters were busy throughout 2021. Some highlights of the work that was accomplished includes:

• Planted 570 gravel bed trees and shrubs throughout the county
• Held a tree sale where residents purchased over 2,000 seedlings
• The city of St. Anthony and Tree Trust Youth Build crews utilized a free application created by Hennepin County to collect tree inventory information. Data points were collected on 832 trees.
• Monitored 685 trees by measuring width and determining growth and survival rates
• Continued to update inventory of ash trees on county property. As of December 2021, there are 1,180 existing ash trees within the right-of-way along county roads
• Planted 41 gravel bed trees along Portland Avenue in Minneapolis and Richfield
• Conducted an inventory of diseased trees within rights-of-way along county roads and flagged 83 trees for removal during the 2021–2022 winter

Learn more in the 2021 Community forestry annual report (PDF).

Tree planting and care

Recommended tree list

Use the county's recommended tree list (XLSX) when developing a planting plan. The list includes a list of species and notes about their suitability for planting in various locations. A do-not-plant list is also included.

Terrestrial invasive species

There are many invasive plants of concern in Minnesota. Learn how to identify and prevent the spread of terrestrial invasive species. Learn more and access helpful resources about terrestrial invasive species on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website.

Planting and tree care videos

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has produced helpful videos and resources for planting trees and caring for newly planted trees.

Get to know your neighborhood trees

Neighborhood tree bingo

Take a walk around your neighborhood or visit a local park and see how many of these common urban trees you can find on our Neighborhood Tree Bingo card.

• Download the bingo card as a PDF.
• Download the bingo card as a JPG.

Tree identification guides

Use these resources to help with tree identification:

• Tree identification guide (PDF) from Hennepin County and the University of Minnesota
• A beginner's guide to Minnesota trees (PDF)
• Winter tree ID guide (PDF) from the University of Wisconsin

Emerald ash borer, an invasive tree pest that attacks and kills ash trees, is the biggest current threat to our tree canopy. There are over 1 million ash trees in Hennepin County, and 100 percent of them are threatened by the emerald ash borer. Most residents live within 15 miles of an infested ash tree, which means you should be taking steps now to determine if you have ash trees on your property and how you are going to manage them.

Options for managing ash trees from the threat of emerald ash borer

Hennepin County has a number of resources to learn about emerald ash borer and options for managing ash trees:

• Learn more about the threat of emerald ash borer and options for managing ash trees.
• Learn how to identify and inventory ash trees and decide your best option for managing them (PDF)
• Identifying ash trees video (YouTube)
• Ash tree identification card (PDF)
• Emerald ash borer brochure (PDF)

Saving your mature ash trees

A healthy, mature ash tree may be worth saving, and treatment with an insecticide is an option to preserve ash trees of high value.

Watch "Protecting ash trees from the threat of emerald ash borer" (YouTube) to learn how to determine if your tree is worth saving and see how treatment works.

Spread the word

Use these resources to help spread the word about emerald ash borer and options for managing ash trees:

• Newsletter and social media posts (DOCX)
• Spread of emerald ash borer image (GIF)
• Decision guide for managing ash trees (JPG)

Hennepin County emerald ash borer plan

Learn more about the emerald ash tree in Hennepin County and the county's plans to address the tree pest in the Hennepin County tree canopy enhancement and emerald ash borer plan (PDF).

Tree waste is a valuable resource that can be recycled into compost. It is illegal to put this kind of waste in your household garbage.

Leaves can be composted in your backyard or brought to a yard waste site.

Branches, logs and stumps should be brought to a yard waste site. See a listing of yard waste sites in Hennepin County.