Mission & Focus
VISION
Tacoma Tree Foundation is a leader in the ongoing efforts to make Greater Tacoma a green and resilient place, where:
Everyone has access to the social and environmental benefits that trees and other plants provide, like beauty, habitat, public health, safety, and sense of community.
Everyone shares the responsibility of caring for the urban forest by planting, maintaining, and preserving trees wherever possible.
Our Values
Social Cohesion & Community Respect
We seek to increase social cohesion and civic engagement through mutual caring and environmental stewardship.
We foster safe, welcoming, and supportive communities alongside people of all abilities, ages, appearances, backgrounds, cultures, genders, and lifestyles.
We listen to and respect our neighbors’ opinions, including their concerns about trees in the urban environment.
Equitable Tree Canopy
All people have a right to live in a neighborhood with healthy tree canopy coverage and easy access to green space.
We understand the lack of tree equity—the inequitable distribution of urban trees and green space access—to be an environmental justice issue with roots in our local history.
We promote stewardship through the planting, maintenance, and preservation of trees, especially in neighborhoods where tree canopy coverage is lacking.
Health & Well-Being
Trees have well-documented public health benefits, we see our work as a way to increase well-being and quality of life.
We understand environmental health to be a key driver of people’s physical and mental health (as detailed by the Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map).
We understand that climate change is ongoing and that it impacts the most vulnerable people in our communities first.
Tacoma Tree Foundation deeply values the diversity of the greater Tacoma community and is committed to being an anti-racist organization with an institutional culture grounded in Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (JEDI).
Land Acknowledgement
At Tacoma Tree Foundation, we acknowledge that our work takes place on Indigenous land. Despite generations of violence, Coast Salish peoples still live here, practice their cultures, and care for these lands and waters. We honor and respect the sovereignty of all tribal nations, both here and around the world.Our urban area was, and is being, built by immigrants and people of color, whose labor and cultural contributions to the modern identity of Greater Tacoma we also recognize.
IMPACT
Tacoma needs trees. We have the lowest tree canopy coverage of any city in Western Washington. Our trees are concentrated in parks, steep slopes, and neighborhoods with higher socioeconomic opportunities. These parts of the city benefit from more than double the tree coverage compare to other areas. But even in these neighborhoods, tree benefits are not optimal since a healthy urban forest throughout Tacoma is necessary to sustain everyone. We’re working to grow an urban forest for all. Read all about how we did this work in 2025.
THE GOAL
At the Tacoma Tree Foundation, we see greening as a gateway to civic engagement and an opportunity to cultivate social cohesion. We focus our efforts on educating, empowering, and supporting community members in greening activities. Together we can grow a greener, healthier, and more connected Greater Tacoma area. Click here to see our full Strategic Plan.
