Parts of Tacoma are so lacking in trees they look more like a desert than the Evergreen State. That could change soon now that the city and the nonprofits it partners with are getting $1.3 million in grants aimed to get more trees in the ground.
Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz met with urban and community forestry grant program recipients Wednesday outside Mann Elementary School in Tacoma’s South End to announce the funding and tour the neighborhood.
The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) dolled out $8 million in grant money for 45 projects across the state Wednesday. Tacoma was the top beneficiary.
Out of 122 applications for grants, Tacoma’s SafeTREE Routes for Schools was ranked number one, according to DNR spokesperson Will Rubin. The proposal aims to increase tree coverage along walking corridors at six Tacoma schools located in the city’s under-served neighborhoods. Tacoma Public Schools will add an urban forestry school curriculum during the 3-year-long plan.