CTC Grants

tory schoolhouse built in 1902 is being transformed into a 24-unit family apartment complex that will serve families who are on the verge of or transitioning from homelessness. Catholic Charities of Central Colorado purchased the property from Colorado Springs School District 11 to expand the inventory of transitional housing units available to low-income and vulnerable families. The housing complex is set to open its doors in August 2025.

In addition to housing, the site will host Catholic Charities Family Connections, which will provide critical case management and wraparound services. Additional co-located, family-focused resources include CPCS Head Start and Peak Parent. With access to safe and affordable housing, families will have the opportunity to heal and begin again.

Root for Justice, a task force of First Congregational Church United Church of Christ (FCC) in Colorado Springs, formed to address tree inequity in the city, sought grant funding to support tree planting on the property and in the surrounding neighborhood. The families who will live at the Helen Hunt Housing development are among those who may otherwise lack access to parks and nature. By planting trees on campus, this project not only provides a safe place to call home but also fosters a restorative and therapeutic environment. Enhancing the natural landscape helps nurture both parents and children on their journey toward stability. The adjacent playground on the campus will remain open to all neighborhood children, further enlivening and beautifying this cherished community space.

This project is a shining example of multi-agency collaboration. Catholic Charities, Root for Justice, Landscape Endeavors, the Colorado Springs Forestry Division, and numerous contractors came together to make this vision a reality. The partners collaborated to implement a revised species palette and made space for volunteers to participate in the planting effort. At the end of May, nearly 30 volunteers from FCC and Catholic Charities joined forces to plant more than 20 trees on the property. With 19 different species represented, the planting effort will increase species diversity in the area and support successional planting on a site currently dominated by ash trees, which are highly susceptible to emerald ash borer.

$4,065 (grant funds) + $4,065 (cash match)=$8,130 (total project cost)

Montessori Peaks Academy was one of eight first-time participating organizations in this year’s Trees Across Colorado program. The school purchased 20 trees through the program, and in May, 150 students, teachers, and parents came together to plant them throughout the school grounds. Jon Martin, a researcher from Colorado State University and parent of three Montessori Peaks students, coordinated the plantings and provided tree-planting demonstrations to students and teachers both in classrooms and on planting day.

Beyond instilling an appreciation for trees, the project will provide lasting benefits to students, their families, educators, and school administrators. In addition to the trees planted on campus, several will be added to the Pollinator Garden adjacent to the school. These trees will help replace invasive Russian olive trees, provide shade for outdoor education programs, and support the garden’s overall ecology.

$1,100 (grant funds) + $1,100 (cash match)=$2,200 (total project cost)

Formally known as Colorado Springs Food Rescue, Food to Power is a nonprofit in Colorado Springs that is working to address food access. Their programs work to reduce food waste and address food insecurity. The group is working to grow their garden program to provide fresh produce through their No Cost Grocery Program. A big challenge for the garden is that it sits on hillside where there is a lot of wind exposure. The group applied for a grant from CTC to install a

Volunteers plant 60 trees and shrubs to serve as a hedgerow for Food to Power’s Hillside Hub garden.

hedgerow/pollinator habitat to provide protection for the gardens. The group planted more than 60 trees and shrubs (nine different species/varieties).

$2,000 (grant funds) + $4,750 (cash match)=$6,750 (total project cost)

Over the weekend after Arbor Day, a group of enthusiastic young employees from Ground Works Denver gathered in the City of Sheridan, each holding a shovel, determined to leave their mark on the community. For many of them, this is more than just a weekend project. These youth employees, are learning about skills necessary for green jobs. In addition to participating in a training on how to plant a tree, the volunteers also learned about the importance of the urban forest and why we need a diverse tree canopy.

Over two days, the volunteers worked together with city officials and volunteers, to transform parks, school grounds, and public spaces into vibrant green corridors. By the end of the weekend, 93 trees were planted; a testament to the hard work of these youth employees. The trees symbolize hope for a greener future for Sheridan, which has historically experienced a larger pollution than surrounding areas and based on tree canopy cover data has less tree canopy cover than other areas in the Metro Area.

For the youth of Ground Works Denver, this project was not just about tree planting; it was about learning responsibility, teamwork, and the power of taking action to better their environment. The trees will grow, just as these young stewards will, continuing to enrich the community for decades to come.

One of the LSR Grant funded projects was for a tree planting project in Aurora at Hampden Hills at Aurora HOA. The community was constructed in the early 1980s and based on the age distribution, very few (if any) trees had been planted since that time. In 2020, a tree inventory of the entire community was conducted and it was determined that nearly 40% of the community’s trees were either Ponderosa pine or Austrian pine. The next common species in the community was quaking aspen, where most of the trees were in poor condition. Recognizing the urgent need to increase species diversity and begin succession planting, the association applied for a CTC grant in hopes of starting an annual tree planting program and community building activity.

In preparation for this community-wide tree planting project, one of the HOA Board Members went from door-to-door, asking residents to volunteer to plant trees in the community. Many residents requested trees to plant in front of their units and commit to caring for the trees during the winter to provide winter watering.

On May 1st, she had more than 30 volunteers plant a total of 20 trees. The planting of these trees added three different species of trees to the community that had not been previously planted, which is the first step to increasing the overall species composition and reducing reliance on the most common species of trees in the community. The event provided an opportunity for the neighborhood to connect and helped to beautify areas with new trees. The CTC granted Hampden Hills $1,500 towards the project, with a one-to-one match, the project’s total cost was $3,300.

The Town of La Veta, which is located 16 miles southwest of Walsenburg, was awarded $2,000 to help implement the town’s Tree Canopy Renewal Program. The goal of the program is to increase public safety; provide volunteers with the necessary tools and training to plant and prune trees; improve the health of the community forest; and to increase species diversity. On May 27th, volunteers planted nine trees in commemoration of Arbor Day throughout the community. As part of the event, the Parks and Tree Board conducted a training on tree selection and maintenance for community members.

The grant allowed the Parks and Tree Board to purchase tools that will assist volunteers in completing clearance and visibility pruning and the removal of small dead trees throughout the community as identified by an inventory that was conducted by the Parks and Tree Board the previous year. This volunteer work will help reduce the need for professional tree services and be the start of a regular maintenance program for La Veta’s community forest, which will hopefully promote interest in forestry management throughout the community.

The City of Grand Junction was awarded $1,500 to assist in a nearly $13,000 project to expand an aquaponics greenhouse to experiment with the production of bare root trees in the system. The project was intended to research the potential of producing lower cost trees for the City and to compare the growth of trees produced in this system with similar trees that are balled and burlap.

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