Meet & Support the partners
community-based organizations
Leading the Cool the City project are Black- and Brown-led community-based organizations that have an established history of investing in environmental justice initiatives throughout Richmond. Each organization brings a unique set of skills and connections to the team, building off of each other’s strengths to transform the communities in which they work.
Groundwork RVA works with Richmond youth to advance environmental, economic, and social well-being in neighborhoods by transforming blighted and neglected open spaces into public assets. Groundwork RVA was founded by a broad-based group of community visionaries dedicated to making Richmond greener, more sustainable and more equitable.
Happily Natural was founded as an annual celebration of Black culture in 2003 with a mission to raise consciousness in the African American community. In its 20+ years, Happily Natural has become one of the foremost leaders in the Black urban agriculture, land acquisition, and food justice spaces.
Southside ReLeaf is a community-based organization committed to environmental justice in South Richmond. They are dedicated to making Southside Richmond a greener, healthier, and more connected community by addressing environmental injustices and advocating for equitable green spaces. They aim to create public landscapes and improve private properties that collectively enhance community well-being, environmental sustainability, economic development, and social equity.
Virginia Interfaith Power & Light (VAIPL) is the state affiliate of Interfaith Power & Light, a national organization dedicated to mobilizing a religious response to climate change through energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.
city stakeholders
Three City of Richmond departments coordinate on this project: the Office of Sustainability, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Department of Public Works - Urban Forestry. Together with the four CBOs, these departments are working to increase capacity, improve standards of practice, implement greening projects, and create a Richmond Tree Plan in order to increase urban green equity across the city.
The Richmond Office of Sustainability (OOS) is a team of dynamic, cross-functional specialists who accelerate the advancement of climate justice in the City of Richmond through the implementation of RVAgreen 2050.
The Richmond Department of Parks & Recreation operates more than 170 parks, open spaces, athletic fields, playgrounds, and tot lots. The department maintains 21 community centers that provide a full spectrum of recreational services and leisure programs for all Richmond residents. Included in the park system is the James River Parks System, as well as an inventory of more than 90 monuments/statues/memorials, nine decorative fountains, Dogwood Dell, and seven cemeteries, three of which are active.
The Richmond Department of Public Works - Urban Forestry Division (UFD) is responsible for planting approximately 2,000 new and replacement trees during the planting season, from November 1st to April 15th. UFD maintains approximately 120,200 city-owned trees of more than 80 species.