Community members joined the Tumwater City Council, Planning Commission, and Tree Board on July 28 for the Tumwater Urban Forestry Tour, a two-hour trip around the city with a focus on trees.

Before the participants boarded a pair of buses, Mayor Leatta Dahlhoff led a moment of silence in tribute to the late Jim Sedore, a longtime member of the Tree Board and passionate advocate for urban forestry who died in June.

“This tour is in his honor,” Dahlhoff said.

Staff members from the Community Development Department and Water Resources & Sustainability narrated the tour’s 10 stops. The stops illustrated how different levels of tree canopy affect temperatures by providing shade. Other stops highlighted examples of "right tree, right place" and "wrong tree, wrong place" plantings, particularly along public rights-of-way where some species have buckled sidewalks with their root systems. A healthy tree canopy not only helps reduce energy consumption, but also protects infrastructure and property by shielding surfaces from sun exposure, extending the life of features such as house paint and roadway striping.

One striking example of a tree canopy's effectiveness was an 18-degree temperature difference measured by heat sensors between an area near Bush Middle School, where tree canopy is sparse, and neighborhoods such as the Gold Creek Development and Bronington Drive subdivision.

Nearly 85% of Tumwater’s trees are under 30 years old and many have not yet reached maturity, according to city studies. In recent years, housing developers have incorporated more suitable trees in accordance with city codes. One prime example can be found at Sequoia Landing, a cluster home development near Tumwater Boulevard and Littlerock Road that was designed with trees in mind.

The tour comes as the city continues work on its Urban Forestry Code Update Project, which will revise regulations governing landscaping requirements, protection of existing trees, expansion of the tree canopy, and management of street trees within public rights-of-way.

Learn more

Take a deeper dive and learn more about the 10 stops on the Urban Forestry Tour along with information on Tumwater's goals for the project. 

Questions? Contact 360-754-4180 or cdd@ci.tumwater.wa.us.