Posts Categorized: Blog

June — The Fundamentals of Urban Greenspaces

How do visitors (human or otherwise) engage with the garden? With their senses! Sight, smell, touch,  sound,  and taste. Depending on what type of animal is engaging, it may be only one of the senses or it may be all five. As humans, we are fortunate to have the ability to utilize all of our senses when enjoying the garden. 

Whether you garden in a pot on a balcony,

May — The Fundamentals of Urban Greenspaces Capital Trees in Context: Learning from Leading Park Conservancies

Capital Trees leads through forward-thinking partnerships and imaginative design, and brings the most innovative thinking from around the globe to Richmond. We stand proudly within a growing movement of successful urban park conservancies that are transforming public spaces into community assets. Like Park Pride in Atlanta, we prioritize community engagement in our planning and design processes, ensuring that greenspaces reflect local needs and voices.

April — The Fundamentals of Public Greenspaces Growing Green Together: How Capital Trees Cultivates Community and Thrives through Partnership

Capital Trees is committed to creating and stewarding public greenspaces that are inspiring, welcoming, and collaborative, and through the implementation of that mission our spaces provide abundant opportunities for connection. 

Public greenspaces are an essential reminder that we are not alone in this world. There is a hum and vitality in these spaces that enable us to forget the self and become part of the whole.

March — The Fundamentals of Public Greenspaces Cultivating Community: Prioritizing Engagement in Public Greenspace Design and Care

Did you know that people with greater access to greenspaces are 44% less likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder? Reports from the National Recreation and Park Association also suggest that physical activity in greenspaces has stronger mental health benefits than physical activity in non-greenspaces (1). These statistics highlight how essential greenspaces are for both physical and mental well-being.

February — The Fundamentals of Public Greenspaces 15 Years of Growth: Capital Trees and the Building Blocks of Great Greenspaces

Creating truly exceptional public greenspaces requires more than just planting a few trees. It demands careful consideration of every element that makes these places accessible, comfortable, and engaging for everyone. At Capital Trees, we’ve spent the last 15 years learning and growing, refining our approach to urban greening, and focusing on the fundamental components that transform ordinary spaces into vibrant community hubs.

January — The Fundamentals of Public Greenspaces

Welcome to our 2025 focus: The Fundamentals of Public Greenspaces

Founded in 2010, Capital Trees was built on the values of collaboration, conservation, and community. A dedicated group of women launched Capital Trees after being inspired by a statewide conservation conference and a presentation on integrating tree canopy and greenspaces into urban planning by Rachel Flynn, who was serving as the City of Richmond’s Planner at the time.

December — Tree Talk

Trees. They’re part of our name for a reason. They make up an integral part of parks and green spaces, providing food, shelter, and shade. They filter stormwater runoff and clean our air. They add beauty and benefits for generations to come. And while they’re just one component of our work, they’re an important one, which is why we’ve been focusing on trees with our blog this year. As we look back on 2024,

November — Tree Talk 

Since early November, with community support, Capital Trees has planted over 60 trees in the Richmond region furthering our efforts to expand our tree canopy and build a greener and more vibrant community. As our volunteers learned over the last few weeks, planting a tree is more than just pulling it out of the pot (or removing the burlap/wire) and dropping the tree into the ground. There are several steps that come well before planting day to give trees the best chance to both survive transplant and thrive for years to come.  

October — Tree Talk 

2024 Richmond Tree Week

This year’s Richmond Tree Week marked the 5th annual city-wide week celebrating all things tree! Taking place from October 11 – October 20 this year, more than 20 community organizations participated in 40 free tree-centric events throughout the city of Richmond. Over the course of ten days, Richmonders came together to plant trees, give away free tree seedlings, attend educational workshops, take part in walking and biking tours,

September — Tree Talk 

In 2022, Henrico County reached out to Capital Trees to launch a reforestation effort.  In conversation with county staff and the Va Department of Forestry, a reforestation pilot program at parks and schools in Henrico was approved by the Henrico County Board of Supervisors and Capital Trees in the spring of 2023 (1, 2).  The program officially launched in the summer of 2023 with tree canopy and inventory work at the selected Henrico County parks and schools.