Chelsea-based GreenRoots has been awarded $75,000 from the state to build a new "microforest" on a vacant lot in the city, part of a nearly $700,000 round of tree-canopy grants the Healey-Driscoll administration announced on August 28.

The money comes through the state's Greening the Gateway Cities (GGC) program, a partnership between the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and the Department of Conservation and Recreation's Urban & Community Forestry Program. GreenRoots' $75,000 Implementation Grant will cover the cost of trees, watering, stewardship, and community-outreach materials for the microforest. In the same announcement, GreenRoots also received a separate $30,000 Partnership Grant to support its existing TreeKeeper Program, a community tree-watering initiative, and related outreach on urban forestry practices — bringing the organization's total from this round to $105,000.

State Senator Sal DiDomenico, whose district includes Chelsea, welcomed the funding. "Trees cool our streets, purify our air, beautify our neighborhoods," he said, tying the investment to the city's ongoing fight against extreme summer heat. EEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper framed the statewide funding similarly, saying more trees mean more shade and lower cooling costs for residents during the hottest months.

The microforest builds on years of related work by GreenRoots in Chelsea, one of the most heat-burdened cities in Massachusetts. The nonprofit has been a lead partner on the city's "Cool Block" project, which has combined tree planting, lighter pavement, and the conversion of at least one vacant lot into new green space to fight the urban heat-island effect in some of Chelsea's hottest neighborhoods. The new TreeKeeper-funded outreach builds on that same track record of resident-led tree care.

Statewide, the August 28 round split nearly $700,000 between two programs: $504,900 in Implementation Grants to four municipalities and three nonprofits across seven Gateway Cities, and $189,000 in Partnership Grants to six additional nonprofits. Other Implementation Grant recipients included the cities of Lynn, Malden, Springfield, and Westfield, along with OneHolyoke and Groundwork Southcoast in New Bedford.

Like other GGC Implementation Grants, GreenRoots' award is a reimbursement grant: the nonprofit will need to cover project costs upfront and then seek repayment from the state, per the program's standard grant terms. The state has not specified an exact address or timeline for planting; GreenRoots has not yet publicly detailed which vacant lot will become the microforest.