Written by: Jana Dilley, Urban Forestry Outreach, Office of Sustainability & Environment, City of Seattle

Trees are an essential element of any city, and Seattle – the Emerald City – is no exception. The City of Seattle’s reLeaf Program works to get people excited about planting and caring for urban trees on private property, in city parks, in forest stands, and along streets. Growing the urban forest is important because trees provide many benefits, including:

• Better health and stronger communities – Cities with tree-lined streets are more walkable. Walking, in turn, creates opportunities to meet neighbors and practice a more active—and healthy—lifestyle.
• Reduced stormwater runoff – Trees trap raindrops and slow stormwater runoff, reducing the risk of flooding. Seattle’s urban forest saves an estimated $20 million a year in stormwater management costs.
• Cleaner air and reduced greenhouse gases – Trees capture pollution from the air and absorb carbon dioxide, the key greenhouse gas emitted by cars. Children living near trees may be less prone to asthma.
• Healthier wildlife – Trees provide wildlife habitat and help protect salmon streams.

The City of Seattle’s 2007 Urban Forest Management Plan provides a long-term vision for increasing tree canopy cover—that is, the percent of the city covered by trees as seen in an aerial view. The Plan seeks to increase Seattle’s canopy cover to 30 percent. Currently, Seattle’s canopy cover is lower than cities such as New York (24 percent) and Portland (26 percent). The Plan promotes such projects as planting more trees on city-owned property and helping residents plant and care for trees on their own properties.

The Tree Fund, a component of the Neighborhood Matching Fund, provides free trees to neighborhood groups to enhance the City’s urban forest. The City provides the trees, and neighbors share the work of planting and maintaining them. .

Much of Seattle’s 3,000 acres of forested parkland is in decline from invasive plants like English ivy and blackberry. To protect these spaces, the City has partnered with the Cascade Land Conservancy and Seattle residents to create the Green Seattle Partnershipwith the goal of restoring 2,500 acres of forested parkland by 2025. Volunteers remove invasive plants and plant native trees and understory plants. Events happen every week year round; to join an event in your neighborhood check out www.greenseattle.org/volunteers.