Trees for Seattle
Seattle, Washington, United States · Government program · Local
The City of Seattle's interdepartmental urban forestry program, home of the Trees for Neighborhoods free tree giveaway
About
Trees for Seattle is the City of Seattle's umbrella urban forestry program, coordinating Seattle Public Utilities, Transportation, Parks and Recreation, City Light, Construction and Inspections and the Office of Sustainability and Environment. Its Trees for Neighborhoods program, run by Seattle Public Utilities since 2009, gives residents up to three free trees a year with planting workshops, permits and watering reminders, and has planted over 16,400 trees at homes, schools and along streets. The program also runs Tree Steward work parties and volunteer-led tree walks, grows trees at the Cedar City urban tree nursery, and reports on the Green Seattle Partnership's restoration of forested parkland with Forterra.
What they run
Free trees (up to three per year, six per property lifetime) for Seattle residents to plant in yards and planting strips, with a July application window, fall planting workshops, street tree permit help, October-November delivery and summer watering reminders.
Partnership between the City of Seattle and Forterra restoring forested parkland and natural areas by removing invasive plants and planting native tree seedlings with volunteers and professional crews.
Volunteer work parties on public land to remove ivy, mulch, water and plant trees, plus volunteer-led public tree walks; groups of 10 to 30 can arrange their own work party.
City tree care facility where volunteers help raise young trees that become yard and street trees.
Trees by type of work
| Activity | Trees | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 🌲 Reforestation | 58,909 | 2018–2020 |
| 🎁 Tree adoption & giveaways | 16,400 | 2020–2026 |
Only figures attached to a named program count here. Organization-wide totals sit in the table below.
The numbers
| Metric | Year | Value | Program | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trees planted | 2020 | 1,902 | Organization-wide | Self-reported | sourceTrees for Seattle 2020 Accomplishments Report, p.1: '1,902 Trees planted throughout Seattle by City departments' (also 8,717 trees maintained, 25,923 volunteer hours) |
| Survival rate (%) | 2026 | 88 | Trees for Neighborhoods | Self-reported | sourceGet a Free Tree page: survival rate of '88% ten years after planting' for Trees for Neighborhoods trees (accessed Nov 2026) |
| Trees distributed | 2020 | 1,000 | Trees for Neighborhoods | Self-reported | sourceTrees for Seattle 2020 Accomplishments Report, p.2: Trees for Neighborhoods 'Providing 1,000 free trees every year and support for Seattle residents to plant in their yards' |
| Trees distributedto date | 2026 | 16,400 | Trees for Neighborhoods | Self-reported | source'Since 2009, the Trees for Neighborhoods planting program has helped Seattle plant over 16,400 trees at homes, schools, businesses, gathering places, and along streets' (accessed Nov 2026) |
| Trees planted | 2018 | 46,373 | Green Seattle Partnership | Self-reported | sourceUrban Forest Management Plan 2018 Progress Report ('Our 2018 Accomplishments'): '46,373 native tree seedlings planted by the Green Seattle Partnership'; the same report gives '1,690 trees planted throughout Seattle by City departments' and '78,000 volunteer hours' |
| Trees planted | 2020 | 12,536 | Green Seattle Partnership | Self-reported | sourceTrees for Seattle 2020 Accomplishments Report, p.1: '12,536 native tree seedlings planted by the Green Seattle Partnership' (1,845 acres of forested parkland under restoration) |
How they report
What earned it
- 5/20 Publishes annual tree figures: 1 year of annual figures on record (5 points each, up to 4 years)
- 0/15 Figures are recent: Latest annual figure is for 2020
- 10/10 Every figure has a public source: 6 of 6 figures link to a source
- 0/15 Publishes financials or cost per tree: No financial figure recorded
- 15/15 Reports survival or monitoring: Survival rate on record
- 0/10 Independently verified figure: All figures are the organization's own
- 10/10 Breaks figures down by program: Figures attached to named programs
- 0/5 Reports volunteers or events: No volunteer figures or events
- Latest annual figure
- 1,902 trees in 2020
- Survival
- 88% (2026, reported)
- Compare
- Put Trees for Seattle next to others · method
Upcoming events
None listed here right now. Send us their calendar feed. Check their calendar.