By Gabriela Herring, 90.5 WESA
The inaugural Multi-Faith Community Forestry Summit commenced at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary early Monday morning. What was meant to be a celebration of federal investments in disadvantaged Pittsburgh neighborhoods became a rally promoting community action.
“We could have canceled today’s summit when we received the executive order, but honestly, we need your inspiration and can-do attitude more than ever,” Tree Pittsburgh’s executive director Danielle Crumrine said during opening remarks. “Because guess what? The need, the work, it’s there no matter whether we have federal funding or not.”
The event was jointly organized by Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light and the Pittsburgh Canopy Alliance, of which Tree Pittsburgh is part. By gathering Pittsburgh’s faith leaders, environmental advocates, and community organizers, the summit organizers said they hoped to spur action in the pursuit of environmental resilience.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, the U.S. made its biggest investment to clean energy and sustainability efforts in the country’s history. The IRA provided the United States Department of Agriculture the now-frozen funding that would have supported the Pittsburgh Canopy Alliance’s plans for increasing the city’s tree coverage. Organizers said they don’t know when or if that funding will be released.
According to Crumrine, the central role of mosques, synagogues, and churches in religious communities allows for them to serve as hubs for community information and act as gathering spaces. She said mobilizing these communities in the movement for environmental justice had too great of potential to ignore.
“If we can get a reverend from a church to pull together their congregation to plant trees or host a tree adoption, that would be absolutely fantastic,” Crumrine said.
The first Multi-Faith Urban Forestry Summit took place at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Photo: Gabriela Herring / 90.5 WESA
Congresswoman Summer Lee delivered the keynote speech at the summit, which highlighted religious leaders as some of the most influential figures in the climate fight for the role they play in inspiring their congregations. With wavering federal support, Lee centered community-led action as crucial to the livelihood of environmental projects.
“That’s why we tap into the power of our local organizations — it’s why we go to our local communities — because they know what communities need to thrive. Some of them have been building these [Justice40] projects for years” Lee said. “We need to start sending a message: they are interrupting community progress.”
Lee also discussed her childhood experience in the Mon Valley, highlighting the area’s poor air quality as the force driving her environmental interests. The Mon Valley’s air quality is ranked as some of the worst in the United States for sulfur dioxide pollution due to the area’s proximity to U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works.
Though improving the environmental conditions of Pittsburgh’s various neighborhoods would require specially targeted approaches, Lee emphasized that fleshing out the city’s tree canopy can aid in efforts to reduce heat while also filtering out harmful air pollutants.
“Here’s the truth, while environmental justice does not harm us or impact us equally, it nonetheless will impact each and every one of you,” Lee said. “You cannot outrun climate change.”
