Columbia Green and the City of Columbia’s Forestry and Beautification Division have planted 1,290 trees through their Beat the Heat partnership in just six months— a goal originally projected to take five years.
Initially funded by a USDA grant administered through the Arbor Day Foundation with support from the Inflation Reduction Act, the initiative was created to address Columbia’s 22 percent urban canopy loss over the past 15 years. This decline, primarily due to development on private property, has led to urban heat islands, increased air pollution, stormwater runoff issues, and associated respiratory problems.
The partnership aimed to build a community committed to restoring Columbia’s urban canopy for future generations. Their original five-year plan targeted planting 1,750 trees—1,500 in Justice40 census-designated neighborhoods within city limits through USDA funding, with Columbia Green funding an additional 250 trees throughout greater Columbia.
Since launching in July with an online tree request portal, the initiative saw overwhelming community response, receiving requests for more than 1,000 trees within six months. Nearly 900 of these requests came from neighborhoods outside the USDA grant’s coverage area.
When the Trump administration terminated program funding in February, the 1,290 trees requested up to that point had already been fully funded. This included securing two grants from International Paper via the Arbor Day Foundation and obtaining private donations for trees outside the Justice40 areas. On March 3, 870 five-to-seven-gallon shade trees were delivered to the city for distribution to areas outside the Justice40 zones. By that same date, all Justice40 requests had already been delivered to applicants.
Columbia’s Public Works trucks will begin delivering 319 of the trees to 316 Beat the Heat participants within the city limits. Columbia Green is now seeking other municipalities to help provide delivery to their constituents. This includes:
151 trees in Lexington County
400 trees in Richland County outside the city limits
To contact Columbia Green about helping with deliveries to Lexington and Richland County residents, contact April Lucas at BTHTrees@Columbigreen.org.
Columbia Green is determined to continue Beat the Heat — Plant a Tree in spite of the loss of federal funding. They are seeking partnerships with other like-minded non profits, individuals, and municipalities to raise money for trees and to provide in-kind services such as event space and tree deliveries. Contact them at BTHTrees@Columbiagreen.org to find out how you can partner with them.
To donate to Beat the Heat, visit https://columbiagreen.org/make-a-donation.
