Trees for Schools: Tree-planting Grants for New Jersey Public Schools, Colleges, and Universities

Overview

Vision

To achieve a brighter future, one school at a time.

Mission

Empower New Jersey communities to build a better world for future generations with the tools, training and financial incentives necessary to pursue critical sustainability initiatives.

Trees for Schools

The Trees for Schools program will provide $2.5 million in grants to New Jersey public school districts, colleges, and universities to support planting and maintaining trees on schoolgrounds and campuses across the state. By planting trees where young minds grow and knowledge is generated, the program is at once profoundly symbolic of sustainability and renewal and, at the same time, highly beneficial in myriad practical ways.

Trees combat climate change by storing carbon they pull out of the atmosphere, while mitigating the effects of rising temperatures and rainfall. Trees provide shade, habitat, beauty, and educational opportunities; they filter pollutants from air and water, reduce stormwater runoff, and lower carbon emissions and costs by saving energy in buildings. Tree-planting and stewardship at educational institutions not only enhances the environment in the towns and cities where they are located, it also stimulates the local economy, boosts property values, and improves human health and the quality of life for students, faculty and staff, and the surrounding community alike.

Funded by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) with proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), this program will be administered by the Sustainability Institute at The College of New Jersey (SI@TCNJ). SI@TCNJ manages the Sustainable Jersey certification programs.

Funding Amounts

All applicants must submit a primary grant proposal, for which the total budget must fall within the range from $10,000 to $250,000.

Applicants may also choose to submit a supplemental grant proposal, which may be submitted for an amount up to an additional $250,000. The supplemental project may be approved for funding contingent upon the availability of funds. The maximum potential funding is $500,000 total.

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

* To be eligible to participate in this program an applicant must be a:
* New Jersey public school district, including one or more schools with any combination of pre-K through 12th grade levels
* New Jersey community college
* New Jersey state college
* New Jersey state university
* Applications can include proposed planting projects on more than one location (school or campus property) owned by the applicant.
* Eligible planting areas must be located on:
* Land owned by a NJ public school district
* Land owned by a county college
* Land owned by a state college or university
* Municipal, county, state or federal land that is adjacent to school, college, or university property and/or that is used or frequented by students (e.g., along streets, parks or playing fields), with documented permission of relevant jurisdiction.
* Enrichment planting (interplanting) of trees within forested areas, including secondary re-growth, and removal of invasive species are not eligible activities for reimbursement under this grant.
* Eligible Grant Expenses
* Planting material and planting
* Use the type of planting material (trees) most suited to site conditions: balled and burlapped (B&B), container-grown, or bareroot.
* The minimum size is 1.5” caliper measurement and the maximum size is 3” caliper.
* Justification must be provided for planting any trees that are larger or smaller.
* Only tree species are allowed.
* Native tree species are preferred. However, the most important factor in species selection is suitability to the site and site conditions, including resilience to climate change impacts (periods of high heat and/or drought punctuated by heavy to extreme rainfall), and potential pests and diseases.
* Planting material may be purchased from nurseries, or the cost of the trees may be bundled with labor in a planting contract.
* Labor costs for planting may be bundled, contracted separately, hired directly for an hourly wage, performed by staff labor, or performed by volunteers. To facilitate comparison, it is broken out as a line item in the preliminary budget.
* Site preparation
* Soil testing and localized soil improvements, such as soil amendments or structural soil.
* Removal of impervious surfaces, such as concrete.
* Establishment or extension of raised tree beds or tree pits.
* Removal of stumps and trees to prepare for replacement trees (justification for tree removal must be provided).
* Stump grinding.
* Equipment
* Purchase, rental or repair costs for equipment directly needed for tree planting and maintenance for this project, such as shovels or irrigation equipment.
* Supplies
* Tree protection and maintenance supplies, such as, mulch, compost, support stakes, irrigator bags, and planting tubes or fencing for deer protection.
* Supplies must be for use associated with the plantings funded by this grant.
* Maintenance
* Subcontracts for site preparation or for watering, pruning and/or other care of project trees.
* Alternatively, maintenance activities may be combined in the same contract as planting labor, hired directly for an hourly wage, performed by staff labor, or performed by volunteers.
* Consultant
* Up to 10% of the total project cost is allowed for assistance with planting design and project implementation supervision from a qualified professional (such as a licensed landscape architect or consulting forester).
* Personnel Costs
* Salaries, benefits and wages directly attributable to non-administrative project work, such as site preparation, tree planting, watering or other maintenance activities, and monitoring.
* Grantees will be expected to track hourly personnel costs associated with project work.
* Indirect Costs
* Administrative costs (overheads) allowed up to 10% of total project cost allowed.

Ineligibility

* Project sites on private land are NOT eligible.
* No shrubs or herbaceous plants.
* No invasive species may be planted; that is, do not plant any species or cultivated variety (cultivar) that is listed on the Strike Team Do Not Plant list.