This article originally appeared in Yale Climate Connections.

In Tucson, Arizona, teens are getting paid to plant trees that will provide cooling shade as the climate warms.

Breault: “We all know how it feels being in the 110-degree heat, walking down the street in Tucson without any shade. Like, that is a universal experience for the community members here.”

Angel Enriquez Breault is with the nonprofit Tucson Clean and Beautiful.

He says Tucson is working to expand its tree canopy. And his group is getting young people involved in the effort.

Breault: “Who are better representatives and stewards for the urban forest than the individuals growing up with it?”

Each year, the Youth Tree Leaders program hires up to about 50 teenagers. They learn about planting and caring for drought-tolerant trees and participate in planting events alongside arborists and volunteers.

Breault says the experience helps foster a larger sense of stewardship.

Breault: “When we have young people that have gone through a process of planting and getting to know, identify these trees and watching them mature and care for them, you know … that's really how we connect young people to place.”

So the program helps teens feel rooted in their communities and invested in a greener future.

Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media

This article first appeared on Yale Climate Connections and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.