Every tree was once just a seed.
Rooted in her passion for creating community by planting trees , Sarah Low founded the Tacoma Tree Foundation in 2018, after working for the US Forest Service in Philadelphia and for the City of Tacoma. Sarah noted a regional gap in environmental nonprofits focused on serving neighborhoods with the lowest tree canopy, and set out to create an organization with the mission of growing community while reducing barriers to trees and their social, ecological, and health benefits. Thanks to her leadership, TTF made it through the pandemic as a healthy organization focused on planting, education, and advocacy.
Established in 2018, the Tacoma Tree Foundation has the mission to grow community stewardship of the urban forest across Greater Tacoma through planting, education, and advocacy.
The Tacoma Tree Foundation became a registered non-profit with a small but mighty team made up of community partners. The Foundation’s first volunteers, partners, and employees got on board because they shared the foundation’s values of planting trees, building community, and growing a just and equitable Tacoma. This energized group helped coordinate outreach efforts, start building relationships, and hold our first tree shares. Their passion inspired others and fostered valuable relationships in our community that we continue to nurture today.
2018
Today, we are a team of six full-time and eight essential part-time staff members. We are planting and educating all over the city and the Parkland-Midland area, in historically underserved neighborhoods with low tree equity. We advocate for policies that support neighborhood trees, while our education programs allow community members to learn about tree science, technical tree care, climate justice, and to connect with trees from their unique backgrounds and perspectives.
2026
The Tacoma Tree Foundation logo depicts a Čaʔadᶻac, Garry oak, or Oregon white oak. Native to our region’s prairie habitat and a fixture of South Tacoma—one of our priority neighborhoods—these oaks stand tall and steady, protecting our streets and homes. They can live up to 500 years and reach 100 feet. We hope to grow as the Garry oak does: in community, with reaching arms, a friend to all, and always reliable!
Behind The Logo
TTF Through The Years
December 2018 | Foundation established by Sarah Low
2019
April | First grant awarded, first plant share
May | First Tree Stewards Training
June | First Intern
July | First part-time employee hired
October | First school planting
2020
August | Nature Explorers program begins
2021
October | First full-time Executive Director hired
2022
February | First Branch Out tree share
November | First Climate Leadership Cohort
2023
May | Moved into an office at the Union Club
June | Hired second full time position
September | Surpassed 10,000 trees planted
October | Hired third full time position
2024
February | Bought electric truck and named it “Cedro”
2025
December | Adopted new strategic plan
2026
February | Moved office to TPL Community Hub
May | Purchased Watering Trailer
June | Hired Sixth full-time staff member
“Our first plantings and tree shares were big and successful because for the first employees the success of the organization was personal. They are the reason we were able to weather a pandemic and come out of it looking like an organization that had been around for much longer than it had. Having a team of people who made the organization something personal and then went around and talked about it helped create a buzz in communities throughout Tacoma. That is how we were able to connect with neighborhood organizations, like HUG, so early in the organization’s development. These are the folks that came on as part-time employees in those first few years and who I’d like to thank: Jessi, Alejandro, Abby, Maria Teresa, Katherine, Josh, Sam, Jen, Jessica, Horacio, Luna, and Lowell, for helping to make TTF the organization it is today.”
-Sarah Low, Founder