In dozens of cities across the United States, canopy coverage (or lack thereof) maps directly onto redlining maps. That is, the neighborhoods that have experienced historic and systematic disinvestment are precisely the neighborhoods that now bake under the beating sun without the benefit of tree coverage. In a time of increasing urban heat islands, this is an issue of life and death.

Trees, for all their beauty and majesty, are also climate resilience infrastructure. A mature tree can cool surrounding air temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit, reduce energy costs, filter air pollution, and slow stormwater runoff. During extreme heat events (which are becoming more frequent and more deadly) tree canopy can mean the difference between a livable neighborhood and one that becomes dangerously hot.

And yet, access to trees is deeply unequal.

In many North American cities, wealthier and predominantly white neighborhoods enjoy lush canopy cover, while lower-income neighborhoods and neighborhoods of color have far fewer trees. These patterns did not emerge by accident. They are the long shadow of redlining, discriminatory zoning, and decades of public and private disinvestment. What was once a system that denied mortgages now shows up as asphalt, bare sidewalks, and heat-trapping concrete.

Heat does not impact everyone equally. Older adults, young children, outdoor workers, and people without access to air conditioning are most vulnerable. In both the United States and Canada, extreme heat is already one of the deadliest climate impacts. When we talk about trees, we are talking about public health, racial equity, and justice for our neighbors.

Throughout the biblical story, trees quietly sustain life: they shelter birds, mark sacred encounters, and bear witness to God’s ongoing care for the world. In the beginning, of course, God situated human life around the tree of life, one in the midst of a forest full of “trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.” (Genesis 2:9) The prophets pick up this arboreal imagery, steeping the tree leaves with land and economic justice. In Ezekiel’s vision, trees grow along the river flowing from God’s presence, their leaves bringing healing and their fruit offered month after month for sustenance (Ezekiel 47:12, NIV). The Bible closes by returning to this image, as Revelation describes the tree of life standing at the heart of the renewed city, its leaves “for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2, NIV). These are only a few of the nearly 4,000 references to trees in the scriptures. In fact, other than humans, trees are the most-mentioned creatures in the Bible.

Access to trees is a question of faithfulness. In our cities and neighborhoods, trees participate in God’s provision, offering cooling shade, clean air, and spaces of rest that sustain both human and nonhuman life. When these gifts are withheld from certain communities through histories of disinvestment and neglect, it reflects a world out of alignment with God’s intent for shared flourishing. In a warming climate, restoring and protecting tree canopy is an act of repair. It is an embodied way of seeking justice, tending the common good, and reweaving relationships between people, place, and the life-giving presence of God.

So, what does the Church do about this?

Climate change and environmental justice can feel abstract or overwhelming, especially when framed only through policy debates or scientific reports. But trees offer a more grounded place to begin. They root global climate realities in local neighborhoods. They draw our attention to who finds relief in the shade and who is left exposed. And they invite congregations into questions that are at once ecological, social, theological, and spiritual.

These are not questions the Church has to answer all at once. But they are questions worth sitting with in all the rhythms of the Church: in worship, in preaching, in prayer, and in conversation with neighbors. They ask us to look closely at the places we inhabit and the communities we belong to. They ask us to notice where life is flourishing and where it is strained, and to wonder what repair might look like in our own context.

Creation Justice Ministries’ Canopy of Creation resource was developed to help open up this kind of space in congregational life. It offers one way for churches to begin paying attention together, listening for where God’s call to justice and care for creation might already be taking root.

The Church does not need to become an expert in urban forestry to engage this work. But we are called to notice – to listen to the groaning of creation, to attend to the suffering of our neighbors, and to respond with love, humility, and courage.

In a climate-changed world, shade is a matter of justice. And trees, both those in the soil outside on our church lawn and those found in our sacred texts, can help the Church begin again, attentive to God’s vision of healing for the land and for all who dwell within it.

You can download Canopy of Creation at creationjustice.org/canopyofcreation and learn more about our Tree Equity Initiatives at creationjustice.org/tree-equity.