Providence Neighborhood Planting Program

As we welcome the first days of summer (in spirit, anyway!), Providence has 224 more street trees shading our neighborhoods, thanks to the volunteers and community partners that came out to join us at planting days this spring!

In partnership with the City of Providence Forestry division at the Providence Parks Department, this season we:
🌳Planted 224 new street trees
🌿 Planted 44 different species or cultivars of trees.
🌆 Added trees across ten different neighborhoods, including tree-equity priority areas in South Providence, the West End, and Charles!
🎒 Worked with Providence Public Schools and the Providence Urban Wildlife Conservation Partnership to plant trees and shrubs in the schoolyard at Narducci Learning Center, a PPSD "swing site" in the North End of Providence.
🌱 Planted out the first of our "Sapling Stewards" saplings in their "forever homes".

It takes a village to grow an urban forest, and as always we have so many partners to thank: Johnson and Wales Eco Club for being such enthusiastic and long-term partners, Brown Med School's Eco Collaborative, Groundwork Rhode Island's Green Team & Change Makers, Garden Time's Green Reentry Jobs Training Cohort, Beta Omega Chi, Providence Urban Wildlife Conservation Partnership, Partnership for Providence Parks, SHPI - Smith Hill Partners' Initiative, and Quisqueya En Acción for turning out to plant and care for trees across the city this Spring!

Thanks also to Providence City Council Councilors Mary Kay Harris, Juan Pichardo, Pedro Espinal and Trinity Square Together for teaming up with us to keep greening up Broad Street through the Beautify Broad St initiative--and we were so excited to be joined for our Arbor Day Planting at Narducci Learning Center by Mayor Brett Smiley and Councilor Roias! And of course thanks always to our close collaborators and partners the Garden Time Canopy Crew, who are by our side planting after planting, sharing their expertise with volunteers and making sure the trees get planted properly :)

Finally, a big thank you this season also to Building Futures, whose Building Green Futures cohort not only helped us plant along Allens Ave, but also provided 95 trees from their Valley St tree nursery initiative to be planted out on the streets!

During a day of planting trees along Allens Ave, trainees from Building Futures Green Futures job training cohort enjoyed a lunch break at the Public Street public waterfront access point!

We know it will take a lot more than trees to make the Allens Ave corridor a hospitable place where humans and other life forms can exist and thrive, but getting some more trees planted is a start!

With guidance and input from , the Washington Park Association and the Port Shoreline Resiliency Cohort, we planted 22 new trees so far this Spring--and have more planned for the fall… Stay tuned for community “TreeLC” tree stewardship activities this summer along Allens Ave!

Another planting day in the books! This past Saturday, we focused on the West End and Broad Street in partnership with . The rain held off until we were done, and then gently showered the new trees to help them get established. 🌧️

Thanks to and Canopy Crew for your help!

Want to get in on the planting fun? You have one last chance for the season! This upcoming Saturday, we'll be planting in the Blackstone and Mt Hope neighborhoods, and then helping with planting their super exciting microforest at Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex (JSEC) on the South Side.

👉 www.pnpp.org/volunteer to find out more and sign up as a volunteer!

What an amazing planting season it’s been so far! A few highlights:

🌳Earth Day Planting and TreeLC at 195 District Park with Partnership for Providence Parks, Santander Bank, Providence Parks Department and Groundwork Rhode Island's Green Team.
🌳Planting with neighbors and new friends in Federal Hill, Mt Pleasant and the North End.
🌳Our Arbor Day celebration at Narducci Learning Center with help from Providence Urban Wildlife Conservation Partnership, , , Providence Schools, JWU Providence ECO, , and even more help from Groundwork RI's Green Team. We planted 23 new trees around the schoolyard and we're planting more today!

Want to help grow our urban forest? We’re looking for volunteers tomorrow, Saturday, May 2 and again next Saturday, May 9 as well. Check out the schedule and sign up at pnpp.org/volunteer. 💪🌱

PNPP will be leading a Jane's Walk this year! This weekend of "walking conversations" is named after legendary urbanist Jane Jacobs and invites neighbors to observe, reflect upon, and discuss the built environment around them. You can check out the whole schedule at https://ppsri.org/events/janes-walk-providence-an-annual-festival-of-free-resident-led-walking-conversations/

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Trees in the City: How We Experience Providence’s Urban Forest

How do we experience trees in our city? How does the presence or absence of trees impact our lives and experiences as residents? Urban trees are critical community infrastructure. They play a key role in addressing the compounding impacts of the climate crisis in our cities and protecting the health of our ecosystem and its inhabitants: cooling and cleaning our air and water, mitigating flooding, offering beauty and food, bringing us joy, contributing to placemaking, creating spaces for community gathering.

But how do trees fit into a dense, post industrial New England city like Providence, with so many competing elements and needs? What does it look like to preserve or plant new trees in city like ours? We know that trees and the benefits they offer are not evenly distributed across our communities. Why? What are the barriers to addressing this inequity and increasing tree canopy citywide?

Walk some city streets with us, paying attention to where we do and don’t see trees, what that looks and feels like, and observing how trees fit in and around the built environment.

📍Meeting Location: North side of Dexter Park, adjacent to Hollywood Road, at the base of the Ebenezer Knight Dexter statue
🕜 Sunday, May 3, 1:30pm
🌱 Registration: None required, just show up!

Did you see a group wandering the paths of Roger Williams Park last weekend brandishing spoons? That was us on our Spotted Lantern Fly egg hunt! We learned:

🥄What Spotted Lantern Fly are, how they came here, and what issues they can cause
🥄 How to spot Spotted Lantern Fly in every stage of their life cycle
🥄How we can prevent their spread by squishing their eggs over the late fall, winter, and early spring (our implement of choice was spoons, but you can also use sticks or a rock)
🥄How teamwork can help! (Sometimes a boost from a taller friend helps!)

Thanks to Green Team for joining us!

You can learn more about Spotted Lantern Fly on the RIDEM website at https://dem.ri.gov/agriculture/caps-program-pests-spotted-lanternfly

Will you be our Arbor-tine? 🌳💚

We're celebrating Arbor Day this Saturday with plantings across the city, culminating in a celebration and planting at Narducci Learning Center in the North End, where we'll be greening up the schoolyard and some of the surrounding streets.

Sign up for all the upcoming spring plantings over the next few weeks at www.pnpp.org/volunteer.

We'll be hosting a Trees in the City walk on Sunday, May 3!

Jane’s Walk is a-foot in Providence May 1-3, 2026! Are You Ready?!

Explore Providence neighborhoods on foot with Jane’s Walk, a global walking festival on May 1-3, inspired by urban activist Jane Jacobs. There are 20(!!) interactive walks scheduled this year — all led by local residents and community activists who get people thinking, talking and connecting with each other. Jane’s Walks are free and anyone can participate. No registration necessary.

Wear comfortable shoes, meet your walk leader in the designated meeting spot, and get ready for a lively discussion.

PLAN YOUR ITINERARY: https://ppsri.org/events/janes-walk-providence-an-annual-festival-of-free-resident-led-walking-conversations/