Posted on Dec 24, 2022
In Tacoma, growing the urban tree canopy is a community effort
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On Veteran’s Day, Sandy Hanks stood in the parking lot of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall in the McKinley neighborhood of Tacoma, Washington, admiring a southern Magnolia tree.
“This past summer, the blinds in the front melted,” Hanks said. “So we've been looking for a good shade tree.”
McKinley, where Hanks lives, is one of the Tacoma neighborhoods that register between ten and 15 degrees hotter in summer than places with better tree cover. The heat dome of 2021 brought the highest temperatures ever seen in the Pacific Northwest in late June, killing more than 100 people statewide. Others sweltered in the heat, like Hanks, on her street in McKinley.
“It gets that kind of exposure. It's too hot. It's like, direct sunlight. And for years, we've been saying, why don't we just plant something right in the strip by the right of way, to shade the house,” Hanks said.
“This past summer, the blinds in the front melted,” Hanks said. “So we've been looking for a good shade tree.”
McKinley, where Hanks lives, is one of the Tacoma neighborhoods that register between ten and 15 degrees hotter in summer than places with better tree cover. The heat dome of 2021 brought the highest temperatures ever seen in the Pacific Northwest in late June, killing more than 100 people statewide. Others sweltered in the heat, like Hanks, on her street in McKinley.
“It gets that kind of exposure. It's too hot. It's like, direct sunlight. And for years, we've been saying, why don't we just plant something right in the strip by the right of way, to shade the house,” Hanks said.
In Tacoma, growing the urban tree canopy is a community effort
Posted from knkx.org
Tacoma
Environment
Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Planting in the fall and winter is ideal, because the trees are dormant. Any shock to their system is minimized.
Johnson said larger trees like the three oaks delivered and planted here for Ramos retail for between $100 and $400 apiece.
Before packing up to go to the next house on her planting tour, Johnson admired the newly-planted pin oak in the front yard, which she said is one of the largest trees they’re giving away. It already stands nearly eight feet tall.
“It's absolutely gorgeous – beautiful fall color. It turns this beautiful, vibrant red and yellow. So it will get big, which is nice. And this is a really good spot for it,” Johnson said.
The new owner’s only obligation is a promise to water them. Ramos said her family could not afford to buy these trees on their own.
“With everything being so expensive, it’s the last thing you're going to do right now is spend money on trees – food is so expensive,” she said.
But they’re grateful to receive them – to help cool their home and beautify the property.
By the end of the weekend, Tacoma Tree Foundation said it had distributed and planted 493 free trees, the largest tree giveaway the city has ever seen. The city of Tacoma will end the year with more than 3,878 new trees added to its canopy, more than double the total for 2016."
..."Planting in the fall and winter is ideal, because the trees are dormant. Any shock to their system is minimized.
Johnson said larger trees like the three oaks delivered and planted here for Ramos retail for between $100 and $400 apiece.
Before packing up to go to the next house on her planting tour, Johnson admired the newly-planted pin oak in the front yard, which she said is one of the largest trees they’re giving away. It already stands nearly eight feet tall.
“It's absolutely gorgeous – beautiful fall color. It turns this beautiful, vibrant red and yellow. So it will get big, which is nice. And this is a really good spot for it,” Johnson said.
The new owner’s only obligation is a promise to water them. Ramos said her family could not afford to buy these trees on their own.
“With everything being so expensive, it’s the last thing you're going to do right now is spend money on trees – food is so expensive,” she said.
But they’re grateful to receive them – to help cool their home and beautify the property.
By the end of the weekend, Tacoma Tree Foundation said it had distributed and planted 493 free trees, the largest tree giveaway the city has ever seen. The city of Tacoma will end the year with more than 3,878 new trees added to its canopy, more than double the total for 2016."
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