DOGE cut $500k grant to plant trees and weatherize homes in Hunting Park

The City of Philadelphia and community groups have for years sought ways to help cool down Hunting Park, a neighborhood hard hit by heat waves because of its lack of shade and green space.

But a $500,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant to plant trees and weatherize homes while providing jobs and training for adults and youth has been cut by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The money had already been awarded to the nonprofit Nueva Esperanza Inc. and other local partners. Esperanza, which learned of the cancellation weeks ago, issued a statement to The Inquirer on Tuesday.

“Esperanza’s EPA grant was already in its first year of providing resources and skills to equip residents to respond to the impacts of heat in Hunting Park, create employment skill-building opportunities for youth and young adults, strengthen the local tree canopy, and improve overall quality of life,” the statement said.

Esperanza has worked in Hunting Park, a neighborhood within North Philadelphia, for decades, the statement said, “addressing needs, providing access to economic mobility, transforming lives and neighborhoods.”

The group has disputed the cancellation.

“We hope the federal government will reconsider the importance of the work and mitigating the health and human impact in one of the city’s hottest communities,” the statement said.

Esperanza was awarded funding under the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement program, which was terminated on Feb. 21.

Hunting Park falls within the “very high” range of Philadelphia’s Heat Vulnerability Index, which looks at several factors associated with the negative effects of extreme heat events. Those in the highest range are much hotter and more humid than other neighborhoods.

Hunting Park, with few trees, is considered a heat island because of its mix of rowhouses, asphalt, and concrete — all of which absorb heat and reduce airflow. Such neighborhoods can be 10 to 15 degrees hotter than leafier neighborhoods with green space and single-family homes.

More than 75% of Hunting Park consists of buildings, roads, and paved surfaces compared with 52% of the city overall, according to a city plan to address the heat island effect in Hunting Park.

Lower-income residents of color tend to bear the brunt of extreme heat’s impact. In 2020, for example, the Hunting Park Neighborhood Advisory Committee surveyed residents about how they cope with heat and asked how many had air-conditioning. Out of 563 who answered, 100 had air-conditioning.

The EPA grant was given to fund the Hunting Park Community-Led Climate Resilience and Empowerment Project, which aims to improve climate resiliency.

Money was to be distributed to nonprofits other than Esperanza involved in the project. Those included As I Plant This Seed, Hunting Park Neighborhood Advisory Committee, Hunting Park Community Solar Initiative, and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS).

The groups planned to collaborate with Esperanza on community outreach and serve as a model for what could be done in similar neighborhoods.

They hoped to:

Matt Rader, president of PHS, said many people don’t understand the effect trees can have on a neighborhood.

PHS was set to receive $42,000 of the grant money, which would pay for cutting out squares in sidewalks to make room for newly planted trees, and teaching neighbors how to care for them.

The money would help extend the work of PHS’s established Tree Tenders program, which works with volunteer-based community groups to plant trees. PHS has trained more than 6,500 people who have gone on to lead volunteers in planting over 3,000 trees each year, according to its website.

“Hunting Park as a neighborhood has one of the lowest tree canopy neighborhoods in the city,” Rader said. “It’s therefore one of the most intense urban heat islands in the city. There’s been a lot of focus in recent years on trying to address the urban heat island effect because it’s a public health issue.”

Rader said trees are critical in cities, helping to clean air, bring temperatures down, make streets safer, and build community.

“Any loss of funding just further shows that we are far from really appreciating the fundamental value of trees,” Rader said.

A $500,000 grant from the EPA to Bartram’s Garden also was terminated last week. The EPA assistance agreement grant would have supported 50 paid youth internships as well as the planting of 200 trees and 120 home gardens in Southwest Philadelphia.

The Trump administration, through DOGE, has also frozen $12 million city officials planned to use for the Philly Tree Plan, a goal to grow Philadelphia’s tree canopy substantially over the next decade.