More than 150 years ago, our region was built from old growth forests. Today, the urban forests where our homes and workplaces stand have some of the lowest tree canopy coverage in Western Washington. But thanks to a growing number of tree advocates in our neighborhoods, councils, and governments, we stand at a crossroads.

Join Tacoma Tree Foundation, Executive Director, Dr. Lowell Wyse, to learn how we can seize this moment and grow our love of trees into a movement that sustains our region’s urban forests through the climate challenges of the 21st century.

7PM | KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

8PM | TOAST AND SILENT AUCTION

About Milgard Hall

We are grateful to our partners at the University of Washington’s Office of Community Partnerships who generously donated the space for this event. Adjacent to the lecture hall where the event will take place is a stunning gallery that celebrates the original stewards of the forests where we live and work: the Puyallup Tribe. This gallery is part of the microforest project currently being developed by a team of UW-T students, professors, and community partners. The goal is to develop a microfest on the northeast corner of South 17th Street and Commerce Street. At UWT, a microforest is a promising afforestation method suited to urban contexts because these can be planted in small and irregular plots of public land that are otherwise unsuitable for other types of development. This managed landscape will serve as a public and educational space. It will help center and in some cases recover the presence and history of the people and cultures that have dwelled and worked in this place, including native and Indigenous people and those who came to Tacoma to work in the timber industry.