Community Resilience

Building resilience means preparing our community to withstand and recover from challenges like extreme weather, economic shifts, and other disruptions. Learn how we are strengthening systems, supporting people, and adapting for the future.

Beat the Heat

Heat is one of the primary consequences of our changing climate. To support the community as we have hotter days and more of them, please see our Hot Weather Resources: orangecountync.gov/heat.

Planting Trees

Planting trees helps communities stay strong and healthy during extreme weather. Trees provide shade, which keeps neighborhoods cooler during heat waves. They also clean the air, soak up rain to reduce flooding, and support mental and physical health. Over time, trees make neighborhoods more livable and better able to handle the effects of climate change.

Duke Energy Foundation grant for heat mapping and tree planting

The Orange County Climate Action Plan focuses on five key areas: transportation, buildings and energy, conserving resources, building a resilient community, and creating a greener community. This tree planting project supports the last two areas—resilient community and green community—by helping neighborhoods adapt to extreme heat and adding more trees.

Climate Action Plan resilient and green community graphics

tree graphic

Planting Trees to Cool Our Communities

Orange County received a $25,000 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation to help find and cool down “urban heat islands”—areas that get much hotter than others because they have lots of pavement and not much shade. These hot areas can be especially hard on people during the summer, particularly for people without air conditioning or who struggle with high energy bills. 

This project supports our Climate Action Plan and our commitment to building a more resilient, healthier, and a more equitable Orange County.

Where are Trees Needed Most?

The map below shows the hottest parts of Orange County.

To identify where planting trees will help the most, we looked at both heat and neighborhood needs. Using information about hot areas and communities that may be more at risk—like those with lower incomes, higher energy bills, or less access to cooling—we identified the neighborhoods that would benefit most from shade. 

* The areas shown in red on the map get the hottest.

Where Are Trees Needed Most

We created a tool by combining data on heat exposure, social vulnerability, and existing tree cover. 

We used the following data:

  • Urban Heat Island data from Landsat 8 (2022)
  • Road network buffers to locate heat-retaining streets
  • EPA Disadvantaged Communities data
  • Social Vulnerability Index (SVI)
  • Tree Equity Score for canopy gaps

Learn about heat islands (video)

Read more about the Orange County Climate Action Plan