This session is hosted by the National Youth Employment Coalition. Staff members from The Corps Network will present.

We don’t often associate urban areas with “green spaces,” but trees play a critical role in our cities by helping regulate temperatures, manage stormwater, and provide fresh air and habitats. Caring for the urban tree canopy is becoming increasingly important as our cities face longer heatwaves and the threat of bigger storms, floods, and wildfires. Thanks to investments from the Inflation Reduction Act, and initiatives like the American Climate Corps, there are more opportunities for young people – particularly those from environmental justice communities that have experienced disinvestment in green spaces – to find training and jobs in the urban forestry field. In this session, attendees will learn about what urban forestry entails, the job opportunities available, and how Corps programs across the country – including those involved in the American Climate Corps – offer a training pathway into meaningful forestry careers. More than 80% of the U.S. population lives in cities: through urban forestry jobs, local young people in these communities can help deliver the environmental, social, and economic benefits that are associated with healthy urban trees and parks.