Tree Equity: The Ultimate Climate Solution
As Seattle grows, the impacts of climate change—including extreme heat—are becoming more severe and inequitable. Communities of color and low-income neighborhoods often have fewer trees, which means they experience hotter temperatures, poorer air quality, and fewer health and wellness benefits.
Tree equity matters because:
- Low-income and Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities often have 50% less tree coverage than their white, wealthier counterparts.
- Tree canopy reduces urban heat by up to 10°F.
- Tree canopy plays an important role in stormwater management, keeping the Puget Sound and our lakes clean for people and fish.
- Neighborhoods with higher canopy coverage experience improved mental health and air quality.
Tree equity isn’t just about planting trees—it’s about sowing justice, and the time to act is now.
Seattle Parks Foundation works to build connections and resilience in the face of climate change through our Tree Equity Network. This growing coalition of community partners, organizations, and advocates works to advance tree equity across the greater Seattle area. We operate around the belief that everyone deserves the health, climate, and community benefits that trees provide—regardless of neighborhood or income level.
Individuals and organizations from Seattle and South King County who are passionate about and invested in protecting trees and spreading awareness about their importance in climate resilience are part of the Tree Equity Network.
- Beacon Hill Council
- Birds Connect Seattle
- City of Burien Parks & Recreation
- Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association (DNDA)
- Duwamish Alive Coalition
- Dirt Corps
- Environmental Coalition of South Seattle
- Emerald Alliance for People, Nature and Community
- Green Seattle Partnership
- Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area
- Serve Ethiopians WA
- Tree Action Seattle
- Trees and People Coalition
- Trees for Seattle Parks
- 90+ individual participants
Our partners share a common goal of protecting and building awareness about the importance of trees. The wide range of experiences, access and expertise that exists within the network allows for cross-sector and cross-neighborhood collaboration. Sharing resources and connections among the network broadens each partner’s ability to protect and plant more trees to benefit the health and well-being of people in our region.
The network aims to increase public awareness about the role tree equity plays in building a habitable and climate resilient environment. As a collective, we support grassroots and citywide efforts to:
Envision a greener future: Tree Equity Network members actively work with public agency representatives to develop mutually beneficial goals and widen their understanding of the importance of trees in all neighborhoods, while also circulating policy-related initiatives.
Connect and grow community: Through network meetings like Rooted in the Future: Who, What, How? and the Good News Workshop, we bring together government, nonprofit, and community voices to share knowledge and expand impact.
Our Rooted in the Future meeting focused on government involvement in tree equity and the value of thoughtfully engaging young people in environmental work, with presentations from King County about their Heat Mitigation Strategy and Dirt Corps’ Outdoor Innovator Program.
The Good News Workshop centered youth and community engagement, with presentations from Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, Trees and People Coalition, and the City of Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment.
Educate and empower youth: Our Branches of Hope: The Power of Trees and The Power of You workshops engage high school students in activities that remind us how nature cares for us, how we can care for our communities and planet, and how we can use our voices for change, no matter our age.
The YMCA Earth Service Corps recently invited Tree Equity Network to their Environmental Symposium at University of Washington. Our Program Manager of Urban Climate Resilience Projects Celeste Staples presented the Branches of Hope workshop to over 30 high school students from all over King County.
Interested in bringing the workshop to your classroom or event? Reach out to celeste@seattleparksfoundation.org!
Take action: We regularly connect volunteers with community tree planting and restoration efforts across King County. Each volunteer day blossoms new opportunities for partnership and further deepens existing connections.
This April and August, Burien Parks & Recreation, Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, Dirt Corps with Trees for Seattle, Green SeaTac Partnership, and Green Seattle Partnership hosted five restoration work parties at different parks and greenspaces throughout King County. Volunteers of all ages spent their Saturday removing ivy, mulching, beautifying parks, and preparing land for planting season at Hilltop Park, E.C. Hughes Park, Longfellow Creek, North SeaTac Park, and the Leschi Natural Area.
Ultimately, we aim to foster a movement that ensures adequate tree canopy for all. We’ve been successful in many of our endeavors, such as:
- Connecting tree advocates and civic leaders to push for common sense policies that support both tree protection and housing density.
- Hosting interactive and educational workshops that intentionally engage youth.
- Bringing local, private, and foundation funds together in a coordinated large-scale investment in tree canopy where our communities need it most.
- Collaboratively generating initiatives and efforts with high impact and large community buy-in.
- Educating more of the community on why this work matters – and engaging them in it, too!
Join the Movement for Tree Equity
The ability to influence investment and policies that encourage tree canopy is stronger in numbers! Interested in joining the network to cultivate greener, healthier neighborhoods in King County? Sign up for our email list to receive quarterly updates and event invites, along with emails from Seattle Parks Foundation about parks and public spaces throughout the region. Learn more about Tree Equity Network and how you can get involved here.