Providence Neighborhood Planting Program

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Providence Neighborhood Planting Program

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Together we plant, steward and advocate for trees in Providence!

The Providence Neighborhood Planting Program (PNPP) is a street tree planting partnership between the Mary Elizabeth Sharpe PNPP Endowment, the City of Providence, and residents of the City.

10/14/2026

Huge thanks to for honoring Providence Neighborhood Planting Program with the Gold Leaf award! This award recognizes an individual, organization, or community in the New England Chapter for outstanding Arbor Day programs or community landscape beautification projects, and we're proud to have been selected for our "dedication to planting trees, enhancing neighborhoods, and creating a healthier and more vibrant urban environment."

The New England ISA Annual Conference was held in Rhode Island this year, but we're grateful for all the work they do to support arboriculture and urban forestry across New England! Learn more about them at: https://newenglandisa.org/

It was an extra honor to be presented with the award by New England ISA Board Member, PNPP Board Member and former longtime Providence City Forester, Doug Still :)

Pictured are Team PNPP, current Providence City Forester Samuel Daganhart, and Doug Still.

10/05/2026

ARE YOU READY TO PLANT SOME TREES?? 🌳🌱💚

We are! Join us on October 17, 24 and 31 for our family-friendly fall neighborhood plantings. We'll need lots of community volunteers to help install over 200 trees in their new homes across the city. 🪏

Learn more and sign up at pnpp.org/volunteer or follow the link in our bio.

10/02/2026

Just a few weeks until we kick off Fall planting season! 🌳🌳

Here’s a peek behind the scenes at some of the prep work to get everything ready!

📷 1: Planting Coordinator Tonay and City Forester Sam visit to handpick the trees which will be planted this season
📷 2: The Forestry Crew accepts the tree delivery to the forestry yard in Roger Williams Park, where they’ll be tagged, inventoried and held for planting days!
📷 3 & 4: Tonay marks the site of a future tree. Every site must be visited by PNPP staff or the City Forester at least once to assess underground utilities, carefully mark the exact spot, choose the right tree for the space, and make sure the site gets prepped for planting day.
📷 5: The Forestry Crew out removing stumps to make way for new trees in the tree pits
📷 6: Team PNPP poring over planting day spreadsheets
📷 7: Young trees waiting for their new homes!

09/23/2026

SAVE THE DATES: It’s almost planting time! 🪏

We’ve been busy coordinating with tree leaders, responding to resident requests, coordinating with Dig Safe and our landscaping partner to prep tree pits, and visiting sites to select the right species of tree for each location.

All of this work will culminate in three big planting days this fall, in locations across the city:
💚October 17
💚October 24
🎃October 31

Mark your calendars now, because we’ll be looking for your help to get nearly 300 trees planted in their new forever homes. Keep an eye out here for the detailed schedule and volunteer sign-up links– we’ll share them in the coming weeks.

(One more way to get involved: Join us and for a Care for the Square day on October 3rd! Check out their page or follow the link in our bio for more information!)

Looking forward to growing our urban canopy with you! 🌳🌱

09/18/2026

Take a peek at our “Sapling Stewards” distributed community nursery project! 🌱🌱🌱 Community groups around the city have been tending batches of young tree seedlings, growing them until they’re ready for permanent homes out in the urban forest. Huge thanks to all the stewards for their young tree nurturing, and to Bloom RI for making it possible!

Thanks to and the MANY other partners working with us on this project!

08/26/2026

Reporting back from our TreeLC day earlier in August-- this great group of volunteers worked with us to install temporary bollards around young trees on Messer St in the West End.

New trees face a lot, but one of the biggest threats along busy streets like this one is damage from cars. These low-cost bollards will prevent cars from pulling up onto the sidewalk and damaging these trees before they've had a chance to get established.

Thanks to everyone who came out! Taking care of trees is a year-round endeavor, so keep your eyes peeled for other ways to help out. 💚

08/20/2026

Alongside the fun of the beach and summer vacation, so far this season we've experienced record-breaking heat, localized flooding, and drought conditions across much of the state.

Borne out of this increasingly extreme weather, a conversation about trees as climate resilience infrastructure has begun to flourish. In this summer's newsletter, we're taking a look at some of the climate resiliency benefits that trees can provide, and how some of our work as tree stewards is changing with the changing climate.

Check out the full newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/1e309a799191/climateresilienceintheurbanforest

08/12/2026

We had a lovely (if a little warm!) day gathering with Providence Community Tree Keepers last week to do some pruning around Sackett Street School in Elmwood.

Providence Community Tree Keepers (PCTKs) are residents who have completed a training with us and are certified to prune street trees. Structural pruning of young trees helps them withstand environmental stressors throughout their lives, while regular pruning along sidewalks and right-of-ways helps prevent damage to trees and keeps our sidewalks accessible and safe.

Interested in becoming a PCTK? In partnership with we'll be holding a bilingual (English and Spanish) training for new tree keepers in late August! Head to pnpp.org/stewardship/pvdtreekeepers to learn more and fill out a program application.

08/07/2026

What a difference the shade of a tree can make! 🌳

Earlier this summer, Providence set a record for the highest temperature ever recorded in the city on that date. (More about that at pvdeye.org/july-2026-heatwave)

As these dangerously hot days become more common in Rhode Island, it's important to remember that the heat isn't felt equally. Neighborhoods with less tree canopy and more pavement can experience heat index temperatures up to 10 degrees hotter than the city's greener, wealthier neighborhoods on the East Side.

Yesterday, we visited the playground at Feinstein Elementary at Sackett Street on the South Side to check out the surface temperatures in their playground. Children, along with older adults, are especially vulnerable to heat-related illness, making shade at places like schools and playgrounds incredibly important.

Last year, we planted 29 new trees at the school. They’re still young, but as they mature they'll create a shadier, safer schoolyard for future Sackett St students!

05/07/2026

Another planting day in the books! This past Saturday, we focused on the West End and Broad Street in partnership with . The rain held off until we were done, and then gently showered the new trees to help them get established. 🌧️

Thanks to and Canopy Crew for your help!

Want to get in on the planting fun? You have one last chance for the season! This upcoming Saturday, we'll be planting in the Blackstone and Mt Hope neighborhoods, and then helping with planting their super exciting microforest at Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex (JSEC) on the South Side.

👉 www.pnpp.org/volunteer to find out more and sign up as a volunteer!

Address

Providence, RI

Telephone

+14014847359

Website

http://www.pnpp.org/

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