Across Baltimore City, much of our green space has been replaced with hard, impervious surfaces such as pavement, roads, sidewalks, and rooftops that increase issues like extreme heat, flooding and sewage backups.    Trees act like giant sponges, absorbing heat and pollution. They reduce health issues like asthma and cool down blocks in the summer. They reduce residents’ utility bills. They add shade and beauty. Trees gain value as they age. An abundance of well-maintained trees improves quality of life for city residents.    At Baltimore Tree Trust (BTT), we understand that tree canopy is not distributed equitably and that lack of trees directly impacts residents’ health. We focus on planting in  neighborhoods with the fewest trees to improve public health. Even in neighborhoods with higher canopy, we need to plant to replace aging trees before they die out.  BTT is part of a citywide coalition of nonprofits, city agencies, community groups and individual residents working toward a shared goal of 40% tree canopy cover under the TreeBaltimore partnership. Tree canopy is the percent of a city’s land covered by leaves and branches when looking down from a bird’s eye view.