Have you ever wondered what goes into to choosing the location for Arbor Day? Let's peel back the curtain to show you the strategy behind this decision.
Arbor Day is an opportunity to increase tree canopy coverage in places that are lacking, identified as our Priority Service Areas.
Why Cully?
In 2019, the Cully Neighborhood had a tree canopy coverage average of around 20 percent. That's lower than the average for East Portland of 21 percent. And it's far lower than the west side estimate of 56 percent. This makes Cully a prime place to work with community members to grow the neighborhood's canopy.
Why at a school?
The majority of planting space in the city is found on private property. Schools are an especially great focus for tree planting efforts since they often have large yards with few trees.
Increased canopy coverage at schools has impressive benefits for students like reducing stress, increasing focus, and promoting increased physical activity in students. More so, schools can serve as a great equalizer for student access to greenspace for pupils that live in nature deprived areas.
The 15 trees we will plant during Arbor Day are not the only ones going to the Head Start. In fact, later in the year, the Learning Landscapes program will plant an additional 20 trees at the school.
Learn More
If you want to learn more about how the canopy in Cully is made up, be sure to check out the Tree Inventory and Street Tree Dashboard educational table at Arbor Day. There will be a staff member available to help you explore these two powerful tools.