During the recession, City of Trees follows three trainees and the directors of a stimulus-funded green job training program designed to put unemployed people back to work by caring for parks in DC.

During the Great Recession, joblessness exceeds 20 percent east of the Anacostia River in Washington, DC. City of Trees follows the intimate stories of Charles, Michael and James, three long-term unemployed residents struggling to gain employment through 'shovel ready' green projects. When stimulus dollars run out, short term idealism clashes with day-to-day survival in the struggle to find a sense of purpose and place in a recovering economy.