(Portland, OR) –
Portland Parks & Recreation’s (PP&R) Urban Forestry team is planting Free Street Trees from now through March 2025 in key Portland neighborhoods with a noted need for more tree canopy. City contractors will install over 1,000 young trees in the rights-of-way, typically between sidewalks and roads. The plantings are targeted for locations where the deficit of tree cover has left communities most vulnerable to heat illness.
“Everyone, regardless of where we live, deserves safer, cleaner, healthier neighborhoods,” says PP&R Director Adena Long. “It’s a matter of public well-being. The Free Street Tree program is a step in the right direction.”
The priority neighborhoods for the current planting effort include Kerns, Buckman, Foster-Powell, Kenton, King, Mt. Scott-Arleta, Piedmont, South Tabor, Wilkes, and Creston-Kenilworth. Studies of these areas of Southeast and Northeast Portland show that they have less canopy cover than other parts of town. Closing this gap in priority service areas has been a primary goal for Portland Parks & Recreation and the City overall. PP&R Urban Forestry’s tree planting work has been made possible in part by funding from the City of Portland, Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund. Learn more about this work on the Equitable Tree Canopy program page.
PP&R Urban Forestry staff will ensure the new trees are watered, weeded, and maintained for three years after planting. Tree planting sites are chosen to avoid utilities, maximize tree canopy, and provide the greatest service to residents. The trees themselves are strategically selected to be climate-resilient and low maintenance.
“Trees are very important for improving the health, safety, and well-being for Portlanders. Not only do they function to cool spaces on hot summer days, but they play a vital role in improving human health,” says City Forester Jenn Cairo of PP&R. “The Free Street Trees effort is one of several programs in action to improve the green infrastructure of our neighborhoods, over the next five years.”
The numbers tell the story
West of the Willamette River, Portlanders enjoy 56% canopy cover. East of the river, where 80% of Portland’s residents live, canopy cover is only 21% On our hottest days, the variation in temperature this creates between those regions has been recorded as much as 20%. That difference can mean life or death, for residents. Trees are part of the very fabric of the city and help keep Portland green and healthy. Trees offer shade; lower temperatures in neighborhoods; provide wildlife habitat, beauty, and cleaner air. They also help improve road safety, and mental health outcomes in our neighborhoods.
Last call for FREE yard trees for your Portland property
Free trees for private properties are also available through Urban Forestry’s annual Yard Tree Giveawayprogram, held each fall. December 13, 2024, is the last day to register and receive trees this season. Around 300 trees are still available for free delivery to any Portland property owners: this includes colossal chestnuts, interior live oaks, Oregon white oaks, ponderosa pines, and London ‘Exclamation!’ planetrees. Mulch for the trees, watering buckets, and instructions for planting are all provided.
Property owners must register to receive their trees, and can also request Urban Forestry’s assistance deciding which trees might be best for their homes. Planting specialists can answer questions in English and in Spanish. The 3,000 trees across Portland from the Yard Tree Giveaway program, and the 1,000 Free Street Trees grown in priority service areas, are major programs which PP&R Urban Forestry staff provide in response to the City’s Climate Action Plan.
More information on the Free Street Tree program is available in multiple languages at portland.gov/trees/tree-planting/free-street-trees.
About the PP&R Urban Forestry division
The mission of PP&R’s Urban Forestry division is to manage and care for Portland's urban forest infrastructure. Our urban forest consists of more than 236,000 street trees, 1.2 million park trees, and about 2.9 million private property trees valued at over $6 billion. Some of the services that PP&R Urban Forestry staff provide include creating and implementing the city's Urban Forest Plan; fostering community awareness and stewardship of trees; developing tree policies and programs; monitoring and assessing the urban forest; issuing permits for planting, pruning, and removal of public and some private trees. PP&R Urban Forestry staff are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to respond to tree emergencies on City property. Portland has been a Tree City USA for 46 consecutive years, a Tree City of the World, and the PP&R Urban Forestry program is accredited by the Urban and Community Forestry Society (formerly the Society of Municipal Arborists).
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