The New Orleans Canopy Training, Urban Reforestation, and Neighborhood Leadership Project (NOCTURNL)

About Us

The City of New Orleans was awarded $8 million from the Urban and Community Forestry program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to plant trees in underserved areas of the city and expand urban forestry workforce training from 2024 to 2028.

New Orleans faces an array of environmental challenges, including increasingly stronger hurricanes and rainfall events, soil subsidence, coastal erosion, drought, and extreme heat. Some areas of the city are considered “heat islands” due to lack of greenspace and can be nearly nine degrees hotter than other areas. These neighborhoods are often less affluent and historically home to people of color.

With this funding, the City of New Orleans and community partners will plant and maintain trees in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods across the city. These plantings will help meet the goals of the Climate Action Plan of 40,000 new trees planted by 2030. The funding will also allow for workforce development organizations to expand their programming to meet the growing demand for forestry professionals needed to grow and maintain the City’s tree canopy.

Partners in the project include Audubon Delta, Greater New Orleans Foundation, Groundwork New Orleans, Louisiana Green Corps, NOLA Tree Project, Sustaining Our Urban Landscape (SOUL), Thrive New Orleans, and Water Wise Gulf South. 

The Urban and Community Forestry Program received $1.5 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act to support urban tree-planting, urban forest planning and management and related activities, particularly in disadvantaged communities. The award for the City of New Orleans was one of the 385 awards made across the U.S. and territories, including four awards in Louisiana.

Click here for more information on the Urban and Community Forestry

  • District A: Dixon, Hollygrove, Leonidas
  • District B: Broadmoor, Central City, Gert Town
  • District C: Algiers-Behrman, New Aurora/Lower Coast Algiers, St. Claude
  • District D: Desire, Seventh Ward, St. Bernard, Treme
  • District E: Little Woods, Lower 9th Ward, Village D’lest, West Lake Forest

News

  • "New Orleans receives $8M to plant more trees" (Click Here)
  • "USDA Forest Service makes historic investments in equitable access to trees and nature in Southern Region through Urban and Community Forests grants" (Click Here)
  • "USDA invests $1 billion for nearly 400 projects to expand access to trees and green spaces in communities and neighborhoods nationwide through Investing in America agenda" (Click Here) 

 

In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for Award Number: 24-DG-11083150-557 Page 8 of 23 program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, and American Sign Language) should contact the responsible State or local Agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, which can be obtained online at https://www.ocio.usda.gov/document/ad-3027, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA.

The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

(1) Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

(2) Fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

(3) Email: program.intake@usda.gov.

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