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Tree Bark
News from Urban Forestry — All Trees, No Pulp • August 15, 2025
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“He who plants a tree plants hope.”
Lucy Larcom — Author, Poet, Teacher
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Next Steps for the Portland Urban Forest Plan
 Thanks to your feedback, the Portland Urban Forest Plan is moving closer to adoption! This past spring, Portland Parks & Recreation collected community feedback on the revised plan. After reviewing comments and making changes, we are excited to share it with the community.
What’s next? On August 21, 2025, the Urban Forestry Commission will vote whether to recommend the revised plan to City Council. If they vote to move forward, the plan will be discussed at the Climate, Resilience, and Land Use Committee meeting in mid-September. This City Council Committee is responsible for recommending the plan to the full Council for adoption.
Check the project website for City Council meeting dates. We expect there to be an opportunity to submit written or verbal testimony about the plan to the Climate, Resilience, and Land Use Committee in September.
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Get Ready for Free Street Trees
 This winter, we’re planting 1,400 trees on streets with curbs and sidewalks, also called improved rights-of-way (ROW). This is a new record for the Free Street Trees program!
In this program, we are planting only in improved ROW strips that are four feet wide or greater. When space and conditions allow, we prioritize planting large, evergreen, or native trees to maximize canopy benefits and ecological value. Tree planting will begin in early November and continue through March.
This year’s neighborhoods include:
Arbor Lodge • Cathedral Park • Creston-Kenilworth • Foster-Powell • Kenton • Mill Park • Rose City Park • Roseway • Russell • South Tabor • University Park • Wilkes • Woodstock
Preparations are in full swing! Over the past several months, our team identified suitable planting sites throughout our Priority Service Areas. The process began in early spring with a virtual survey of every block using Google Maps and Street View. Since late spring, we’ve been on the ground, visiting each proposed site to confirm it meets the City’s planting guidelines.
If the ROW next to your property is selected for planting, you'll receive a mailer in mid-September and another in early October. If you would like a tree, you don't have to do anything. If you would prefer not to have one planted, you can let us know by the October 15 deadline via phone, email, or on our website.
Want to learn more about the Free Street Trees program? Join us for a tree walk discussing the program on August 23.
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Celebrating the New Albina Library
 On July 19 and 20, Urban Forestry joined the community celebration of Multnomah County Library’s grand reopening of the Albina Library.
Saturday, we teamed up with VERDE NW’s Equipo de Árboles to hold a tree-themed story-telling and hands-on tree-planting instructional activity for families in English and Spanish.
On Sunday, attendees enjoyed more stories and songs. Additionally, community members learned some facts about the canopy of the Eliot Neighborhood like:
- There are over 2,700 street trees in the neighborhood.
- The most common street trees are Norway maples, ashes, and sweetgums.
- These make up 27 percent of the street trees in the neighborhood.
We’re honored to keep bringing tree-rich, accessible programs into free public spaces through our Library partnership.
Love books and trees? Check out the Urban Forestry booklist in the Multnomah County Library.
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Check Out the Street Tree Inventory Data
Did you know that the data presented at the Albina Library event is also available to the public? If you want to see where we get our numbers from, you can check out the Street Tree Inventory Dashboard and the Tree Inventory Web Map. The dashboard comes equipped with short guide to give you some insight into how to use it.
P.S. We plan on sharing more about how you can use these tools in future issues of Tree Bark, and at future community events where you can practice using them alongside an Urban Forestry staff member.
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Exploring Trees at Holladay Park
 Thursday, July 24, Urban Forestry and Go Lloyd staff joined forces to lead a tree walk at Holladay Park. With a group of 15 people, we took a leisurely stroll through and around the park to learn about canopy coverage in Lloyd District. Go Lloyd provided giveaways and coffee, while Urban Forestry provided snacks and tree resources.
Lloyd District is one of Urban Forestry’s Priority Service Areas, where there is a distinct lack of tree canopy coverage compared to other Portland neighborhoods. Participants got a deep dive into the species makeup of the street and park trees, while learning about Urban Forestry’s planting strategy for growing and diversifying the urban forest.
This walk was a great opportunity for community members to deepen their understanding of the urban forest and why we need more large-form, long-lived trees in areas like Lloyd District. Thanks to all who came out to learn with us, and to Go Lloyd for helping put this event together.
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Upcoming Events
 Tabling at the Kenton Street Fair
August 17, 10am to 6pm
Specific meeting location sent after registration
Celebrate community at Kenton’s annual neighborhood street fair while helping Urban Forestry grow our city's canopy! Volunteers will help people submit interest forms for our popular free Yard Tree Giveaway events that occur every fall. Share your love of trees with community members who are curious about getting trees! We'll lead a short training on the Yard Tree Giveaway program and educational materials you will use to get people to register to receive trees.
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 Portsmouth Neighborhood Tree Walk
Saturday, August 23, 9:30 to 11am
Northgate Park (9415 N Geneva Ave, Portland, OR 97203)
Join us for a tree walk through the Portsmouth Neighborhood and discover some of the many tree species planted by Urban Forestry through the Free Street Trees program. Along the way, you'll hear fun and fascinating facts about trees, learn how they benefit our lives, and find out why we choose certain species for our city streets.
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 Find Your Flare (FYF)
Friday, September 19, 3:30 to 6:30pm
Next to the Mt. Tabor Community Garden near (SE Lincoln & 64th Ave)
One of the best ways to ensure a healthy, long-lived tree is to uncover the root flare before planting. Help us pull back soil on hundreds of trees before we give them away this fall. We will show you how to properly prep the tree by locating the root flare and doing any necessary root pruning.
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Other News
Don't Forget to Submit Your Bill Naito Award Nominations
The deadline to submit nominations for the Bill Naito Community Trees Award is fast approaching. September 1 is the last day to nominate a community member or group doing great work to support the urban forest through education, stewardship, and advocacy. Nominations can be submitted via the Smartsheet form.
Protecting Ash Trees at the Oregon Country Fair
The Oregon Country Fair is a historic summer event that happens in a beautiful, forested area of Veneta, Oregon. The fair has been around 50 years and now faces a new challenge that threatens its existence: the arrival of the emerald ash borer (EAB). This Oregon Public Broadcasting episode highlights the fair and the preparations being made to save some of the iconic ash trees on the fairgrounds. Discussion of EAB stewardship begins around the 9:30 mark.
Tree Planting for Urban Cooling in the UK
Heat islands and extreme heat events are becoming a bigger challenge for urban areas around the world. This timely article explores tree planting efforts and heat research in cities in the United Kingdom to combat heat related deaths and illnesses. The United Kingdom Climate Change Committee reports that the region could see an increase of 7,000 heat related deaths per year by 2050, above the current average of 3,000. Read more about their tree planting strategies to keep cities cool.
Zines & Saplings: Afro Ecology Launch Party
Join Imagine Black as they launch the first edition of the Afro Ecology Zine, a community-rooted publication and organizing tool created to uplift Black voices, environmental justice, and cultural memory. All are welcome to attend.
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