Community Efforts Promote Greater Tree Canopies in East Boston

Boston city and nonprofit leaders are hoping to plant more trees to address the growing problem of tree canopy inequity in racially diverse neighborhoods such as Dorchester and East Boston.

The Boston Tree Alliance is seen as a tool to help residents bring trees to their communities. The Tree Alliance launched two years ago as part of an effort to get trees onto private land. It provides grants to local nonprofits and connects them with residents who want to get trees on their land.

Todd Mistor, Boston's urban forestry director, told GBH media that East Boston is an example of what a public-private partnership can achieve. More than 575 trees have been planted on East Boston streets and in parks, along with more concentrated efforts to get trees onto private ground. These efforts are due in part to a local nonprofit.

Tree Eastie, founded by Bill Masterson in 2021, is a volunteer-based nonprofit that collaborates with residents to help them plant trees in their yards on private land and coordinates with the city to plant on streets and in parks.

Mistor, who is white, said working with Tree Eastie has helped him create connections among individuals in this Latino neighborhood.

“That's been a really good partnership in looking at how we can utilize an existing group that is much more connected to the community than myself or anyone on our staff,” Mistor said to GBH.

“Our volunteers have been ... educating residents on the fact that when you live on a street and it has very few trees, that's really not healthy,” Masterson said. “We've had probably between 75 and 100 new street trees planted in East Boston as a result of us going out to residents and getting them to sign this petition.”