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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nJersey City\u2019s Adopt-A-Tree program allows residents to request that a tree be planted on their property by the city, according to Meshram. And in Philadelphia, the city\u2019s Parks & Recreation Street Tree Office \u201ccan help property owners get a free street tree planted in front of their home, business, or other property,\u201d according to the city\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Trenton does not currently have a city-funded tree program similar to those of Jersey City and Philadelphia, a Trenton-based organization called Isles has taken matters into their own hands to improve the greenery throughout the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust two weeks ago Climate Corps planted trees on Estate Street,\u201d said Stephanie Sharo, Isles\u2019 Climate Corps coordinator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Sharo, Isles also participates in numerous other initiatives aimed at reducing the effects of climate change throughout Trenton, including managing over 60 gardens and demonstrating green infrastructure like \u201cwhite painted roofs and green roofs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The city of Trenton could fund similar programs to those that Isles has developed. In doing so, the city could make climate initiatives more widespread throughout the city, ensuring that every neighborhood receives the support that it needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This method of aligning the work of community members and organizations with the support of government departments and agencies could be used in other ways as well. A common collaborative program that has been used by 60+ cities nationwide is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s (NOAA) Urban Heat Island (UHI) mapping campaign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This initiative helps cities by providing \u201cfunds, scientific support, organizing meetings between all the urban heat island cities, assisting the cities with communication and messaging strategies for talking to the media\/public\/interested parties, and more,\u201d according to NOAA Affiliate Morgan Zabow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NOAA\u2019s UHI mapping campaign involves local citizens who live and work within communities affected by extreme heat and aids them in collecting heat data such as temperature and heat index value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis way, the volunteers are directly learning about how heat is impacting their community,\u201d said Zabow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In Jersey City, this campaign proved to be extremely successful in providing better information and support to residents who have struggled with extreme heat throughout the summer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaving maps of ambient temperature changes through the day helped us identify areas of need and helped us customize solutions in each impacted neighborhood,\u201d said Meshram. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many Jersey City government agencies also provided their support during the City\u2019s UHI mapping campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Meshram, the Jersey City Department of Health and Human Services \u201chelped print materials, secured City Hall Annex as campaign day HQ and even arranged meals for our volunteers.\u201d The City\u2019s Quality of Life Task Force also lended numerous electric vehicles for volunteers to use while taking data measurements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe were proud to lend Sustainable Jersey City resources to ensure the success of its heat mapping campaign,\u201d said Jake Hudnut, Jersey City prosecutor and chief of the Division of Quality-of-Life Enforcement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Philadelphia also completed a NOAA UHI heat mapping campaign in the summer of 2022. Richard Johnson, the director of Climate Year at The Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University, led the program and organized over 50 volunteers and NOAA partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Johnson\u2019s team created a \u201cmobile field campaign\u201d that measured air temperature and humidity\u2014information that the city did not previously have for local communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Johnson, his team was aware of Philadelphia\u2019s tree program initiative and worked to tie it to their UHI mapping campaign to ensure that more action would be taken against climate issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cResults of the heat campaign would inform the tree plan and also create more awareness and engagement,\u201d said Johnson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The end result of these mapping campaigns is a \u201cset of high resolution air temperature and humidity data,\u201d according to NOAA\u2019s website<\/a>. The program also provides \u201cinteractive, high resolution web maps of the modeled air temperature and heat index.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n