program mission

The mission of Heartland Tree Alliance is to engage people of the Greater Kansas City region to take action and advocate for a healthy community forest.

Heartland Tree Alliance educates people about all the critically important benefits created by urban trees, why these trees need extra care, and the proper ways to give them that care. We also organize planting events, pruning events and tree care workdays so people can get involved. Since 2005, HTA volunteers have donated over 13,000 hours of time! The efforts put forth from these volunteers has enabled HTA to plant 17,874 trees, prune 3,264, and maintain an additional 2,527 trees by mulching or removing tree stakes.

heartland tree alliance projects

Learn more about how you can get involved with Heartland Tree Alliance.

Contribute to ourTREE FUND

Shape the future of our region's urban tree canopy by making a donation to the Heartland Tree Alliance's Tree Fund.

Every dollar donated supports efforts across the metropolitan region.

The Heartland Tree Alliance's Tree Fund supports tree planting events and education programs across the Kansas City region.

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heartland tree alliance FY 20-21 accomplishments

  • Accomplishment Logo 1,081

    volunteer hours worked

  • Accomplishment Logo 1,645

    trees planted

  • Accomplishment Logo 27

    citizens trained as TreeKeepers & OrchardKeepers

  • Accomplishment Logo 175

    youth educated about trees

VOLUNTEER with HTA

Join us in creating a sustainable community.

Calling all tree lovers! Volunteer with Bridging The Gap’s Heartland Tree Alliance (HTA) program! At our workdays, we explain why it’s important to maintain and increase our urban tree canopy, then we split into small groups to prune, plant or mulch small trees. We work throughout the metropolitan area, on both sides of the state line.

1,800 people volunteer with BTG each year. Be part of the movement!

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HTA SPEAKERS

Heartland Tree Alliance can provide a speaker for your next meeting! Our presentations are designed for neighborhood associations, businesses, and other groups in the Kansas City region.

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speaker

HTA Steering Committee

Kim Bomberger

NC and NE District Community Forester
Kansas Forest Service

Dustin Branick

Horticulture and Forestry Supervisor
City of Leawood Kansas

Corey Creed

Horticulture Specialist
University of Missouri Extension

Chuck Conner

Community Forester
Missouri Department of Conservation

Leslie Dick

Belton Tree Board Member/Volunteer
Belton Missouri

Jared Lind

Park Maintenance Crew Leader
City of Lenexa Kansas

Lynn Loughary

Horticulture Extension Agent
Kansas State Extension Services

Janese Reed

Small Business Owner
Kansas City Missouri

Wendy Sangster

Community Forester
Missouri Department of Conservation

Geoff Vossen

Transmission and Distribution Vegetation Manager
Kansas City Power & Light

Robert Whitman

Associate Vice President, Landscape Architect
Gould Evans Architects

Heartland Tree Alliance Staff

  • Sarah Crowder

    Program Manager, ISA Certified Arborist, Municipal Specialist SO-5327AM

  • Joe Wheelock

    Program Coordinator

hta sponsors + partners

What's happening now

Planting Guide

It’s finally tree planting season! We must continue to plant trees in our landscapes for the myriad of benefits they provide to the entire land community.  While trees are beautiful, they aren’t just decorations – they benefit human health. Kansas City may face record-high heats in years to come. We must plant trees today so … Continued

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Considerations for Equitable Canopy Distribution

By Joe Wheelock, Program Manager, Heartland Tree Alliance The City of Fountains covers a whopping 319 square miles, which puts KCMO in the top 25 largest cities by land area in the country. (Not to mention, we also invest time in other areas of the greater region including Liberty, Prairie Village, KCK, Lee’s Summit, Belton … Continued

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Proposed KCMO Tree Preservation Ordinance

The KCMO Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee will consider a proposed Tree Protection and Preservation Ordinance to protect and preserve Kansas City’s tree canopy at 1:30 PM on Wednesday, February 8, in the City Council Chambers, Floor 26. Testimony can be provided virtually or in-person at the meetings, or emails can be sent to City … Continued

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Reflections on summer’s heat

Climate scientists predict an increase in the number of extreme heat days for the KC metro area in the coming years, and this summer seemed to align with that forecast. Two of our programs, Heartland Tree Alliance and the KCMO Recycling Drop-off Centers, take an informal measure of its impact on their work over this past … Continued

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