The Central Providence Opportunities: A Health Equity Zone (CPO-HEZ) and the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program (PNPP) teamed up to host a Community Tree Forum at the Olneyville Resilience Hub on April 5, 2025. Community members from across the neighborhoods within the 02909 ZIP code came together to dream up the future of an urban forest and plant the seeds for a greener, healthier neighborhood.
The meeting began with an overview of the PVD Tree Plan, a comprehensive strategic vision and action plan for creating a more equitable urban forest in Providence.
Attendees were provided stickers and asked to place them on a large map to show where they’d like to see more trees and where some existing trees need attention. Using PNNP’s Guide to Selecting a Tree for your Community, the group chose what types of trees would thrive in the neighborhood, bringing beauty, shade, and resilience to the streets, exploring factors ranging from food production to average lifespan.
The group engaged in an energizing conversation about collective power, a core pillar of CPO-HEZ’s work, discussing how they make sure community voices lead this work, and how to keep everyone informed about the progress being made. CPO-HEZ and PNPP ended the forum by sharing exciting next steps, including upcoming orchard workdays and tree planting events, as well as local leadership opportunities. Attendees went home with a propagated plant as a thank you gift.
Want to get involved?
Come to a tree planting, join the PNPP mailing list, or become a Tree Ambassador. Let’s grow the urban forest together!
About One Neighborhood Builders Place Based Initiatives
One Neighborhood Builders serves as the backbone for Central Providence Opportunities: A Health Equity Zone (CPO-HEZ). CPO-HEZ is a- place based, collective impact initiative aimed at increasing collective power, economic mobility and health equity across Central Providence by convening residents and partners to collaboratively advance systems change, and community identified initiatives to build capacity and shift power to residents.
