Community & Urban Forestry Alliance



Changing the Face of Urban Forestry

CUFA is educating and empowering students and residents in underserved neighborhoods to become more involved in their neighborhood landscape, to led in tree care, and to help native tree protection, recovery, and rediscovery. 

Leaves Matter 

Leaves fertilize the forest

Forestry Camp

All that's ever needed is the opportunity

The Climbing School

The sense of accomplishment is unmatched

CUFA a division of CITYGREEN is not your typical tree services provider or advocacy group. Our mission is much broader than that. First, we understand the impact of environmental factors, community engagement, protecting the ecosystem, and the utter importance of increasing awareness. With a declining canopy we must increase transplanted trees survival rates. Thousands of City trees die annual and ten-times that are engulfed or under attack by invasive species, so the time to act is now. We can not replace the broad benefits of a thirty inch diameter black walnut tree with a three inch diameter replacement. Second, we believe trees are more meaningful than canopy coverage, storm water management, or erosion control. Trees also have the remarkable ability to produce food and medicinal properties for humans adding in reducing or preventing some of the most common diseases. We believe all communities should have colorful and healthy trees on their streets and that starts with the basic knowledge of the trees currently there, their age, species, needs, tolerances, benefits, potential pest, and value. In all, this greatly improves a community's viability. So, CUFA is about education first. 

To accomplish this task CUFA has chosen to educate and empower City youth to become the next generation of arborist, ecologist, entomologist, environmental engineers, foresters, scientist, plant pathologist, and policy makers. For many of us, the protection, recovery and re-discovery of native plants are about survival, not just for the trees but for generations to come. For centuries native plants have played a key role in the health and wealth of communities across the country and could once again provide those benefits that could only come from nature. With the effects of the pandemic still lingering around, many teens and trees are in clear and present danger, so now is an opportune time for communities to learn more about the place and powers of native plants and why it's critical that we plant, protect, and place a ring of safety around our teens and trees. 

So, whether you know a teen or tree in need of support or another chance at life, want to increase your native tree knowledge, use your yard to help reduce air-pollution, fight cancer and heart disease, or to reduce teen crime, drop-outs, pregnancy, and violence don't hesitate to contact us. CUFA would appreciate the opportunity to connect our intern arborist to your yard. CUFA believes through genuine care, concern, compassion, the exposure to an community-based education, we can improve the welfare across many different landscapes, foster hope, expand community relations, increase volunteerism, and lay the foundation for more positive, progressive community images. Will you join us in co-creating community solutions that address teens and native trees shared struggles? We hope so, because the end goal is to create environments that spawns perpetual cycles of productive, professional, and proficient teens caring for native trees and each other. 

Crape myrtle bark scale (Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae)  sighting in DC - May 2023

European elm scale (Eriococcus spurius) sighting in DC - May 2023

Getting of the Ground

The Climbing School - 2022

Ready for the Challenge

The Climbing School -2022