Urban forestry
Urban forests are an important community resource and play a key role in our City’s environmental, economic, and public health. Protecting, improving, and maintaining these trees—in parks, along streets, and in neighborhoods—is critical to the wellbeing of our residents and region.
Community involvement is an important part of this work. Unless we work together to care for our urban forests and natural areas, we’re at risk of losing the many benefits they provide.
Benefits of urban forests
- Lower ambient temperatures
- Less noise pollution
- Less air pollution
- Better water quality
- Less stormwater runoff
- Less erosion
- More wildlife habitats
- Less energy use
- Slower climate change
- Stronger local and regional economies
- Safe access to nature
- Improved wellness, fitness, and mental health
- Stronger neighborhoods and community connections
Map of our urban forest
View our Urban Tree Canopy Maps, provided in partnership with King Conservation District.
Ways to get involved
Learn about opportunities to help care for our urban forest, including our new Forest Steward Program and paid after-school program.
Funds for these programs come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources oversees this program through its Urban and Community Forestry Program. These programs are equal opportunity providers.
Volunteer in City parks
Help restore our urban forest within City parks! As a volunteer, you’ll:
- Plant indigenous trees and shrubs
- Remove introduced and problematic plants
- Mulch and water plants
To sign up, check out our Green SeaTac Partnership event page.
Become a Forest Steward
Commit to a park you love! Through our Forest Steward program, you can adopt a park to care for and lead community events. Limited paid stipends are available.
As a Forest Steward, you’ll:
- Plant indigenous trees and shrubs
- Remove introduced plants
- Mulch and water plants
- Host community restoration events (optional)
- Report your time and work
- Have fun outdoors and take ownership of an area in a park you love!
Our next two-part information and training session will be in spring 2027. To sign up, please fill out and submit our Forest Steward Application.
If you’re a current Forest Steward, see our Forest Steward Guide(PDF, 3MB).
Join our paid after-school program
This program will take place after school on Wednesdays and Thursdays for four weeks in October. It includes:
- Hands-on ecological restoration
- Field trips
- Land-connecting activities
- Career exploration
- Guest speakers
Students who participate will receive snacks and a paid stipend.
To apply, please fill out and submit our SeaTac Green Teens Application.
Green Cities Partnership
Our City partners with the following groups to restore and maintain our forested parks and natural areas:
- Green Cities Network (which includes other King County communities)
- King Conservation District
- Port of Seattle
- Community groups
- Nonprofits
- Schools
- Businesses
- Hundreds of volunteers
Through this program, we recruit, train, and support volunteer Forest Stewards to lead forest restoration in City parks. We want to build a strong culture of community stewardship, leadership, and partnership to support a healthy urban forest for everyone.
History of the partnership
The partnership was founded in 2018 with funding from the Port of Seattle Airport Community Ecology (ACE) Fund. The work to form this partnership included: