On a sunny February morning, community members, students, and corporate volunteers came together for a truly remarkable event in the heart of El Mirage, AZ. 

Led by American Forests, alongside our partners the Arizona Sustainability Alliance (AZSA) and supported by corporate sponsor Microsoft, a tree planting became so much more.  

Tree Equity is a major challenge in Arizona, as extreme heat takes hold of the state with disparities along socioeconomic lines, like much of the nation. Our partnership with AZSA is one of American Forests’ place-based efforts meant to ensure that we bring communities into the center as we expand equitable tree cover nationally. 

At the El Mirage Elementary School, which serves a predominantly low-income community, 66 climate-adapted, drought-tolerant trees found their new home. In a testament to the power of community spirit and resilience-building, volunteers, students, and even local firefighters, coming off a grueling 48-hour shift, came together to provide much needed shade and heat relief to the community.  

These trees will bring so much more than greenery and decoration to the school’s landscape, providing relief from the extreme temperatures of the desert sun, cleaning the air, and enhancing the well-being of students and residents for generations to come. Teachers will be able to utilize these trees as learning opportunities for students and, as they mature, they’ll provide safer, cooler outdoor spaces for students to learn, play, and thrive. By investing in green infrastructure, we’re not just planting trees but sowing the seeds of a brighter, more equitable future.  

Behind the scenes and before the trees made it to El Mirage, partners at American Forests and AZSA were making data-driven decisions to maximize the impact of these 66 trees. Leveraging American Forests’ Tree Equity Score Analyzer (TESA) community engagement process for Maricopa County, AZ, our team was able to envision the long-term impact of these trees on vulnerable communities, with statistics on heat disparity, canopy coverage and more readily available in the tool. TESA was able to quickly generate impact reports which vividly illustrate how each tree will serve as a cornerstone of climate resilience for years to come, beyond just compiling numerical data. With the help of TESA, and the hard work of 20 volunteers, we were able to increase the Tree Equity Score of the block by 2 points and contribute to sustainable solution to extreme heat across Phoenix. 

Not only did TESA streamline the planning process for our team, but it also provides easy-to-understand long-term benefits these trees will bring to the area in a free and accessible web-based tool. Oftentimes sharing the real, lasting impacts of community tree plantings can seem out of reach, but American Forests aims to make telling the story of your work easier and more relatable than ever. 

In November 2023, American Forests launched the Maricopa County TESA, a groundbreaking tool designed to provide people-centered, comprehensive data and maps for anyone to lead tree planting efforts int he Maricopa County region, empowering communities to take action.  

TESA isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, it is a human-centered approach to planning that aims to tackle tree inequity head-on.  

Here’s how it works: you start by identifying areas where they can make the most significant impact by prioritizing neighborhoods with low Tree Equity Scores, determined by compiling tree canopy and census data to show where communities may be disproportionately impacted by extreme heat and environmental hazards. From there, you can set customized targets and develop detailed planting plans tailored to each property, utilizing high-resolution land cover data. But TESA doesn’t stop there, allowing you to track progress over time, providing insights into the projected impact of your planting once those saplings grow into mighty trees. 

TESA is doing more than changing how we plan tree plantings; it’s even changing who we bring to the table. With a unique local focus and community-driven approach, TESA was developed in collaboration with a diverse stakeholder council from across Maricopa County, helping you understand the individual needs and challenges of each neighborhood.  By incorporating specific metrics like heat disparity, transit stops, and the location of essential amenities like schools and cooling centers, TESA ensures that every planting project is rooted in equity and accessibility. 

If you are committed to enacting positive change in your community, like our El Mirage volunteers, consider aligning yourself with the stakeholders and advocates already leveraging American Forests’ suite of Tree Equity Score tools. Together, we can harness the collective power of our communities to cultivate environmentally sustainable, thriving neighborhoods that prioritize equity—a legacy that will endure for generations.