DCNR’S Urban and Community Forestry Program and its partners provide a broad range of services to help communities plan for, plant, and care for publicly accessible trees, such as trees in parks, in street rights-of-way, schools, cemeteries and other public spaces.

Though these programs, communities can receive financial or technical assistance for:

  • Tree planting and establishment
  • Tree inventories and management plans
  • Tree preservation and Hazard tree mitigation
  • Urban wood utilization
  • Public education and arboricultural workforce development

Examples of our services include:

Financial Assistance

Our regional community tree specialists can talk through your project ideas to identify if our financial assistance programs may be a good fit for your project.

Technical Assistance and Education

Our staff and partners provide technical assistance, presentations, and educational workshops to support the care and management of community trees. Let us know what kind of educational content or training you are interested in by contacting one of our regional community tree specialists (see map) or filling out our community needs survey.

PA Tree Keeper

The DCNR TreeKeeper map is a free tool available to any community in Pennsylvania. TreeKeeper allows users to house and easily update their tree inventory data, create work plans, and record grant-funded trees.
To access this tool, reach out to Celine Colbert c-cecolber@pa.gov.

PA Invasive Replace-ive Program

The PA Invasive Replace-ive program provides individual PA residents with up to three replacement native trees or shrubs for removing an invasive tree or shrub. After a successful pilot year in 2025, the program will be held again in 2026. Event locations and registration details will be announced soon.

Tree City USA, Tree Campus USA, Tree Line USA

Tree City, Tree Campus, and Tree Line are Arbor Day Foundation programs that recognize communities, college campuses, and electric utility companies that understand and promote the benefits of shade trees and take active steps to properly care for them.

Supplemental Materials

Urban and Community Forestry Factsheet

PA Community Tree Assistance Program

Information and resources provided by Suzanne Hartley, Community Tree Specialist