The city of Seattle is once again offering a limited supply and selection of trees for you to plant in your yard or on your parking strip. Since 2009 four thousand trees have been added to our city streets and yards through Trees for Neighborhoods.

Starting on Monday August 4 at 10am you can apply for up to 4 trees per household. Although not all the selections match my personal criteria for a street tree, it’s a generous offer that allows citizens to participate in the growth of Seattle’s tree canopy. Without this program it wouldn’t be possible for the city to help in adding trees to private land, however, there is more to increasing the canopy than just planting. Seattle reLeaf is not only focused on planting, but also preservation and restoration work such as the pruning and Himalayan blackberry and ivy removal you’ll see happening in many of our public parks.

Trees for Neighborhoods is part of the Seattle reLeaf program which is run by Seattle’s Urban Forestry Commission. In 2013 a goal the Commission set a goal to increase the Seattle tree canopy to 30% by the year 2037. The most recent assessment of the tree canopy in 2007 revealed that it was about 23%. Increasing the tree canopy will bring a multitude of benefits. Curious about the tree canopy in your neighborhood? Click here, check the box for “tree canopy” and enter your zip code or address.

Follow the links in this post for more complete information about permits, digging and rules about where you can plant.