Tree Canopy Plan in Bristol, RI

By Gisella Hildabrand, Sophie Bourque, Meghan Qualey

Look up–something as simple as the source of the shade covering your sidewalks is the key to a healthier, cooler, and more vibrant community. The Bristol Tree Canopy Plan is a project that aims to increase tree cover throughout the Bristol area by planting trees, as well as maintaining current trees for their continued growth. This project has benefits ranging from increased aesthetics in town to reducing heat levels and improving overall community health. Not only do these trees provide shade, but they also help with urban cooling, which cancels out the heat from sidewalks around town. Along with urban cooling, trees help tremendously with air quality by providing oxygen, which helps reduce climate change impacts. 

In total, the town of Bristol boasts a tree coverage of 44%. With that, the town is home to 218 acres of parks, beaches, and conservation areas, along with its residential properties & streets all lined with beautiful trees. Even with that being said, the town strives to continue the growth of its tree coverage with the Tree Canopy Plan. There is a plan set in place to increase the total tree canopy by 1% by 2034. In order to do this, a total of 6,000 trees would need to be planted. To achieve these goals, the town has put in place five strategies as seen in the Tree Cover Plan. These strategies include planting trees in areas where the canopy cover is less than 10%, creating a town policy to adopt trees, taking inventory of the heritage trees, making a multiple-year street planting plan, and adding new tree planting green infrastructure to properties. 

By having a community filled with trees, the town is also able to help with its stormwater capture, as living on the water is no easy feat. These trees can soak up runoff pollution, which protects the bays within the community and keeps the town looking fresh. To go along with all these trees, the town also utilizes a town tree maintenance service and the ability to request a tree planting service for your very own lawn. Make sure that if your public tree needs service to contact the Tree Warden and request help. 

The science behind tree cover’s benefits is widely studied by various organizations, such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Forest Foundation, along with many environmental scientists. The EPA explained how increased trees and vegetation can lower temperatures “by providing shade and cooling through evapotranspiration” (EPA, 2024) The process of evapotranspiration is where the plants release water through their leaves. This cools the air because the air uses its heat to evaporate the water. Trees also have a cooling effect from the shade they provide and by reducing the heat absorption of dark colored pavement. The EPA reported that “on average, urban forests [are] 3.0 °F cooler than urban non-green areas” (EPA, 2024). Trees have other benefits besides cooling down the town of Bristol and other municipalities. 

One such other benefit is the tree’s role in climate change mitigation. The National Forest Foundation explains how trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through the

process of photosynthesis. Liz Forster of this organization reported on how in just one year, “a mature tree can absorb a half a Metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent.” This is important as carbon dioxide is one of the major greenhouse gases that contribute to the warming of our planet. Concerningly, with the warming of our planet comes climate change and more intense storm events. 

However, trees can reduce the amount of runoff that occurs during storm events. A group of scientists led by William R. Selbig conducted a study to quantify the amount of runoff urban trees can contain. The findings were that each tree reduced the runoff volume by about 6,376 liters. As you can see, the science behind the benefits of trees is vast, and they are the perfect solution to reduce heat, stormwater runoff, and to mitigate climate change. 

The tree canopy plan shows a commitment to growing and preserving the town’s tree canopy, which is an investment in a healthier and greener future for everyone. The success of the plan is largely dependent on residents as well, so we highly encourage you to utilize the resources offered by the town, including the Tree Inspection Service or the Request a Tree service. As Bristol continues to grow and change, balancing progress with preservation is essential, and the Tree Canopy Plan is the key to both. 

References: 

“Benefits of Trees and Vegetation.” United States Environmental Protection Agency, December 18, 2025, https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/benefits-trees-and-vegetation. Forster, Liz. “A Breath of Fresh Air: How Trees Help Mitigate Climate Change.” The National Forest Foundation, n.d., 

https://www.nationalforests.org/blog/a-breath-of-fresh-air-how-trees-help-mitigate-climate -change. 

Selbiga, William R., Steven P. Loheide, William Shuster, Bryant C. Scharenbrochd, Robert C. Covillee, James Kruegler et al. “Quantifying the stormwater runoff volume reduction benefits of urban street tree canopy.” Science of the Total Environment, vol. 806, 2022, 151296, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151296.