A free tree program for Columbia residents is still continuing after losing its primary funding source, a federally funded grant.

Beat the Heat is a project by nonprofit Columbia Green and the City of Columbia that distributes free shade trees to property owners in Columbia and some surrounding communities. 

The original grant money came from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The federal Department of Agriculture created a grant with that money to be administered by the Arbor Day Foundation, a national nonprofit focused on planting trees. 

The city applied for the grant to plant trees in areas designated as disadvantaged by the Justice40 initiative. It then reached out to Columbia Green for support with educational materials and marketing, said April Lucas, chair of the Beat the Heat, Plant a Tree committee and board member of Columbia Green, which merged already had a giveaway program.

Beat the Heat gave out more than 1,250 trees using the grant money since July 2024, according to the group’s website.

But a January memo from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget froze the flow of federal grant and loan money. That order was challenged in court and later rescinded. But the rest of Columbia Green’s grant never made it to the nonprofit, former president Austin Saggus said. 

But Beat the Heat is still underway. Saggus said Columbia Green is finding alternative funding sources, including other Arbor Day Foundation grants, private donors and other nonprofits. 

“It certainly won’t be as easy as if the grant was there,” Saggus said. “But we’re making headway.”

Tree coverage is a significant defense against high urban temperatures, according to a 2022 heat map study of Columbia. Large, uncovered areas such as parking lots absorb and retain heat. Suburban areas without tree canopies can also heat up, increasing energy costs.

Growing the tree canopy can also bring health benefits, both physical and mental, Lucas said.

“People who are looking out the window at greenery are more relaxed,” Lucas said. “You have fewer episodes of anxiety and things like that.”

There are also economic benefits, Lucas said. Studies show customers will travel farther and stay longer in commercial districts with a healthy tree canopy, she said.

One of the hottest areas in Columbia is the land around Williams-Brice Stadium and the fairgrounds, Saggus said. But it is an area where small, private property owners are not able to make as much of an impact by planting trees in their yards. 

Saggus has a lot of experience working with grants, but he has never seen a grant dissolve in the same way, he said.

“It’s not uncommon in individual cases to say a grant was clawed back or cancelled,” Saggus said. “Those are like the small things. But to have everything come to a halt, almost like a government shutdown, … yeah, that was a little crazy.”

The first step after the funding loss was to get in touch with the homeowners expecting trees, Saggus said.

“We had to have a communication update with our stakeholders,” Saggus said. “‘Hey, you might not be getting a tree as fast as you want. No, it’s not our fault. We’re trying our hardest to get this back up and running.’”

Columbia Green received money from International Paper through the Arbor Day Foundation, on the condition it go toward planting trees in Lexington County, Lucas said.

The program just received a delivery of 300 trees, and there are another 500 outstanding requests from property owners, Lucas said. 

Columbia Green will look at working with these larger landowners in the future, Saggus said.

“Let’s see if we can get the City of Columbia or another big fish to help us on maybe an area that’s not as private, or some other larger project,” Saggus said. 

The application for a shade tree is on Columbia Green’s website. There are 18 tree species in three different size ranges, but the type of tree a recipient gets depends on the pricing and availability at the time of the order, according to a document from the nonprofit.