The agreement provides funding to tree new mexico under the inflation reduction act (IRA)

This $500,000 Project Grant awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 under the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program (CFDA 66.306) will support Tree New Mexico, Inc. in implementing a tree planting and environmental sustainability initiative in Gallup, New Mexico.

The project will involve planting 400 trees, including a small fruit orchard, understory plants, two Navajo three sisters' gardens, and two kitchen gardens at two assisted living centers in Gallup. The plantings will serve as pilot demonstration sites to engage the local Gallup and Navajo communities in a larger urban canopy initiative, where residents will be trained as tree stewards to plant and care for trees at homes, schools, and businesses. Tree New Mexico will also gather data on tree canopy, heat index, and air quality at the pilot sites to track the environmental and community health impacts. The award has an ultimate completion date of March 25, 2025.

Specifically, the recipient will implement its own project to plant four hundred trees, including a small fruit orchard, numerous understory plants, two navajo three sisters' gardens, and two kitchen gardens at two assisted living centers in gallup, new mexico. The two sites are red rocks care center owned by genesis healthcare (genesishc) and gallup nursing and rehabilitation owned by operating company (opco). These plantings would be developed in a way that they can serve as pilot demonstration sites to build a foundation for a larger urban canopy initiative that engages residents of gallup and nearby navajo communities to plant and care for trees at homes, schools, chapter houses, and businesses. Their partners will work with the residents and their extended families to develop the pilot sites with sustainable designs and materials and to encompass navajo ceremony and culture. Tree new mexico and key partners will also gather tree canopy, heat index, and air quality data at the pilot sites and track changes to these indicators from before the planting starts to the fourth-year final reports to determine the impacts of the planting on the land, air, and cultural health of these pilot residential communities.activities:the activities include training a core group of staff at the pilot facilities to care for the trees, understory and groundcover and training a core group of local volunteers to become tree stewards and continue identifying sites for planting and growing a citizen driven urban canopy initiative in gallup and surrounding communities. They will engage local governments as partners, identify city and county agencies interested in supporting a private citizen driven urban canopy initiative and invite them to be partners on the pilot sites for educational and community support purposes. They will engage local schools and civic organizations as partners, and reach out to nearby schools, community centers and chapter houses to identify individuals interested in developing an urban canopy initiative. They will reach out to local indigenous arborists to tailor tree education to local communities. They will facilitate workshops on benefits of trees, planting for maximum survivability, climate change, green stormwater management, heat index and urban canopy for the entire community using pilot sites as demonstrations. They will facilitate workshops on ozone heat index, planting, staking, pruning and tree care. They will engage local college students to set up and manage the air quality monitoring equipment, read the data, and interpret IT for tree new mexico, the residents and staff, and their families. They will hold meetings to secure ongoing efforts, role of volunteers, tree new mexico's role, how to sustain the initiative and contract two part-time individuals to continue planting initiative. Subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include planting four hundred trees and a variety of understory, groundcover, and garden plants at two pilot sites. The development of a first climate-ready tree list for the gallup area of new mexico. Completing infrastructure of pergolas, fencing, pavers for walking paths, benches, drip and subsurface irrigation, and swales for water retention, pathways, and stormwater catchments. Monitoring the first one hundred trees planted for caliper growth, overall health and structure, canopy growth, and moisture retention. Gathering and assessing ozone heat index and diesel particulate levels baselines, including installation of needed equipment at pilot sites. Developing a citizen science model of data gathering that can be implemented by staff and concerned community members over time. Final reporting of eighty five percent survivability, reduced ozone heat index, reduced diesel particulate matter, and increased use of out