Tree Equity Network’s Second Round of Tree Canopy for Climate Resilience Grants Fund Another Five Projects
By Yordanos Tesfazion
After a successful inaugural launch of the Tree Canopy for Climate Resilience (TCCR) Grant program last year, Tree Equity Network has awarded five more local organizations with funding for various tree canopy and youth-centered environmental projects. Applications for the second round of the granting program opened in June, and the number of submissions more than doubled. For this second round, a total of $50,000 in TCCR Grants were distributed to recipients.
Just like last year, qualifications for the TCCR Grant program require that applicants be engaged in tree canopy projects in South King County and unincorporated King County. These areas are of high priority to Tree Equity Network because they experience disproportionate losses in tree canopy that contribute to environmental and climate challenges, in addition to making recovery much more difficult.
The 2026 Cohort
This year, the TCCR Grant program review committee, consisting of Seattle Parks Foundation staff and members of the Tree Equity Network and greater community, selected the following organizations to receive funding for their projects:
Indigenous Creative Collective: Miyawaki Forest Continuation & Indigenous Teen Internship
Living Well Kent Collaborative: Green River Farm Stand – Tree Canopy Project
Outreach & Transform Lives: Rooted Futures: Youth-Led Tree Stewardship for Climate Resilience (Phase II)
Wakulima USA: Wakulima Canter-Berry Farms Tree Canopy Project
Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (ECOSS): Immigrant Youth Greening Project
Congratulations!
The Projects TCCR Grants are Funding
Indigenous Creative Collective: Miyawaki Forest Continuation & Indigenous Teen Internship
Leading with the belief that people and land are interconnected, Indigenous Creatives Collective tends to the land and one another to create a future rooted in care and community. The organization aims to cultivate permanent Indigenous cultural infrastructure in South Seattle through artmaking, ecological restoration, and collective gatherings. Their efforts include the creation of a Miyawaki Forest on a 2-acre site in Rainier Beach, with the support of 15 Indigenous youth interns ages 16-20 from across the Puget Sound.
You can support Indigenous Creative Collective’s work with the Miyawaki Forest and their Indigenous Teen Internship here.
Living Well Kent Collaborative: Green River Farm Stand – Tree Canopy Project
For over a decade, Living Well Kent Collaborative has been advancing equity through food access, urban agriculture, and community-centered programming across South King County. The nonprofit is led by immigrants, refugees, and Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), and manages farming operations across 12+ acres at Horseneck Farm and Mother Earth Farm through a collective of 25 BIPOC farmers growing culturally relevant produce. The organization plans to plant approximately 45 native trees and 40 native shrubs across a quarter-acre section of their Green River Farm Stand site at Horseneck Farm. Located along the Lower Green River in an active flood zone, the tree canopy in Kent’s agricultural valley is critically low.
You can support Living Well Kent Collaborative’s work with their Green River Farm Stand Tree Canopy Project here.
Outreach & Transform Lives: Rooted Futures: Youth-Led Tree Stewardship for Climate Resilience (Phase II)
Outreach & Transform Lives empower African and Black immigrant communities across South King County to thrive socially, economically, and environmentally with the goal of helping them seamlessly integrate into American society without losing cultural identity. With a heavy focus on youth empowerment, environmental justice, and community resilience, the continuation of their Rooted Futures project will support African and Black immigrant youth (ages 16-24) from recently arrived and asylum-seeking families by addressing environmental health disparities and increasing tree stewardship while simultaneously providing critical economic empowerment and green-career pathways to marginalized immigrant youth who face steep barriers to traditional workforce entry.
You can support Outreach & Transform Lives’ work with the Rooted Futures project here. Make sure to note your gift is for the Rooted Futures project!
Wakulima USA: Wakulima Canter-Berry Farms Tree Canopy Project
Earlier this year, Wakulima USA acquired Canter-Berry Farms in Auburn, Washington, their very first plot of farmland fully owned and operated by the organization. The farm will allow them to further serve fellow East African, immigrant, and refugee community members in the area through their farming and food security programs. In addition to creating a cooler, healthier, and more sustainable farm, their tree canopy project will strengthen overall climate resilience while also promoting community. Shaded gathering spaces are central to how the community connects, celebrates, and makes decisions together.
You can support Wakulima’s work with their Canter-Berry Farms Tree Canopy Project here.
Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (ECOSS): Immigrant Youth Greening Project
Having the agency to shape your environmental future is valuable, and the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (ECOSS) is devoted to helping build immigrant and refugee communities who can do just that. ECOSS’ Immigrant Youth Greening Project addresses urban heat island effects, air pollution, and stormwater pollution while also promoting mental health and youth leadership development through community-centered Green Stormwater Infrastructure initiatives focused on tree planting. Youth will design, build, and maintain large tree planter boxes, plant trees, and install green stormwater infrastructure wherever possible at the Muslim American Youth Foundation (MAYF) in Burien near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The project will promote relationship-building between ECOSS and MAYF, culturally relevant and language-accessible tree education, and collaborative beautification of the area.
You can support ECOSS’ work with their Immigrant Youth Greening Project here.
The Review Committee
Anna Rebecca (AR) Lopez (she/her/ella), Woodland Park Zoo’s Learning Partnerships Manager
Anna manages the Community Collaborative Team – a team that focuses on community engagement and relationship building, program co-design and equitable collaboration, and aligning WPZ’s mission with the priorities and interests of communities historically excluded from conservation action and leadership.
Elizabeth McDaniel (she/her), community member
Elizabeth has nonprofit experience focusing on aging adults, arts and culture, children and youth, community engagement, disaster relief, education, environment, food access and more. She proudly serves communities in several states.
Kristen Milliron (she/her), Seattle Park Foundation’s Chief Operating Officer
Kristen is a fundraising and marketing professional with over ten years of experience in the nonprofit space. She is passionate about engaging donors and community members in action for the benefit of our community and is dedicated to creating a better future for the next generation.
Joshua Morris (he/him), Birds Connect Seattle’s Conservation Director
Josh has worked to understand, preserve and protect our natural world for all of his career and continues to do so now in more ways than one. He served as a commissioner and eventually as the Co-Chair of Seattle’s Urban Forestry Commission for six years, and he helps to lead the Tree Equity Network with his deep knowledge of tree policy and conservation. In his role at Birds Connect Seattle, he works to protect urban habitats, reduce hazards to birds, and engage people in conservation right where they live.
Miranda Perez (she/her), Community Development Equity consultant
Miranda has been a Program Manager in the Salish Sea region for about 5 years, working on a variety of local environmental issues including urban forestry, habitat restoration, transportation and building electrification, and equitable engagement. She is also a kids and youth Capoeira coach for the Seattle Capoeira Center.
The Need for TCCR Grants
With a significant increase in submissions for this second round of the TCCR Grant program, we’re reminded again of the gaps in funding for green initiatives like tree canopy projects throughout the region, especially in South King County. Tree Equity Network hopes to offer immediate, short-term support in communities where a history of inequitable resource distribution has caused environmental and financial strains.
Deep thought and consideration are put into the selection of TCCR Grant recipients, and we’re thankful for the review committee, Tree Equity Network members, and Seattle Parks Foundation staff who assisted in this year’s process.
Congratulations to the grantees!
Learn more about the Tree Equity Network and stay up to date on the TCCR Grant program here.