(Washington, DC) One hundred unique street banners now hang from city light poles throughout downtown DC, as part of a public arts and environmental initiative known as the Urban Forest Project. Each banner uses the form of, or metaphor for, a tree to make powerful, often humorous, visual statements about the environment. They create a forest of thoughtful images in the heart of the nation's capitol to promote a cleaner, greener and more sustainable city.

This project is being presented in Washington by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), in collaboration with the Corcoran College of Art and Design, AIGA DC and is sponsored by the Downtown DC Business Improvement District’s ecoDistrict program.

This innovative project—similar to efforts in several other cities—was adapted to raise public awareness about greening and tree planting initiatives in DC.

“We hope this project will highlight the importance of growing a healthy urban tree canopy and draw attention to the excellent work done day in and day out by our Urban Forestry Administration,” said DDOT Director Terry Bellamy. “Trees in an urban setting require great care and we need businesses and residents to partner with us to ensure that trees survive.”

“The DowntownDC BID is pleased to be a co-sponsor of the Urban Forest banner project because it provides a visual reminder to visitors, workers and residents that sustainability is something that we’re working on every day in the core of the city,” said Richard H. Bradley, the DowntownDC BID’s Executive Director.

Many of the 100 banners on display were designed by local high school and college students. More information about the artists and the banners is available on the project website at ufp-dc.com .

To see and hear some of the artists talk about the inspiration behind their banners,
visit www.youtube.com/AIGAWASHDC .

Seed funding for the project was provided through a grant from the USDA Forest Service. Additional funding was provided by DDOT and the DowntownDC BID.