Tacoma Tree Foundation

Weyerhaeuser employee Teri Rongen, left, student Troy Rath, 15, and Tacoma Public Schools board member Chelsea McElroy work on planting a tree in the fields behind Mount Tahoma High School during an event with American Forests, Friday, April 14, 2023, in Tacoma, Wash.

Historic investment in urban trees underway across the U.S.

The Associated Press

A historic amount of money is being spent on urban tree planting and maintenance in underserved, often concrete-covered neighborhoods across the country.

A line of six people dressed to work outside pass bags of dirt in a parking lot with a truck and trees in buckets behind.

Environment

In Tacoma, growing the urban tree canopy is a community effort

Bellamy Pailthorp

More than a decade ago, Tacoma set an ambitious goal to increase its tree canopy and do so equitably but so far, its been a slow start. At Tacoma Tree Foundation's annual Branch Out event, community partners distributed and planted almost 500 trees. Homeowners, city leaders and volunteers described growing momentum through this kind of community outreach.

Environment

Tacoma’s uphill battle to grow its urban tree canopy by 2030

Bellamy Pailthorp

Amid increasing heat waves driven by climate change, the role of trees in urban environments becomes more crucial every year. Tacoma has fewer trees than any other city in the Puget Sound region – and some of the most aggressive goals to change that.