08/12/2026
I’m honored to be featured in **The Morton Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative August 2026 Tree Ambassador Program Newsletter** in the spotlight, **“Meet a Tree Ambassador: Siri Hibbler.”** 🌳💚
For me, this work is deeply personal.
I was born and raised in **Garfield Park**, and I remember a community filled with beautiful trees, greenery, thriving businesses, and places that brought families together. When I returned years later, I saw how much had changed—and I knew that rebuilding our community had to mean more than economic development. It also had to mean creating a **healthier, greener and more beautiful place for the generations coming behind us.**
Through the **Garfield Park Go Green Collective** and our partnership with The Morton Arboretum’s **Tree Ambassador Program**, we are working to expand tree planting and environmental education throughout Garfield Park, North Lawndale and West Humboldt Park.
🌳 Trees mean cleaner air.
🌳 Trees help reduce flooding.
🌳 Trees provide shade and help cool our neighborhoods.
🌳 Trees beautify our commercial corridors and residential blocks.
🌳 And healthy trees can be part of building healthier communities.
One statement from my interview truly captures why this work matters to me:
**“My hope is to leave this community healthier than I found it—with a higher life expectancy, a more walkable environment, and a greater sense of pride among residents.”**
I’m grateful to **The Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Region Trees Initiative** for giving community leaders the tools, education and resources to make a difference—one block and one tree at a time.
And we’re just getting started. 🌱
I invite you to read my full interview in the **August Tree Ambassador Program Newsletter** and learn more about why this work is so important to the future of Chicago’s West Side.
👉 **Read the newsletter:**
With our planting season having come to a close, we are still welcoming all opportunities to collaborate with our partners and participate in conversations that deepen our connections to each other and the world around us. Please email [email protected] with any events and tabling opportunities tha...
