The Arbor Day Foundation named Burien a 2024 Tree City USA in honor of its commitment to plant, grow, and maintain trees to benefit its community.
The City of Burien, under the Green Burien Partnership have achieved another year of Tree City USA and Growth Award designations. This will be Burien’s 24th year as a Tree City USA and its seventh year with the Growth Award.
The Tree City USA program is run by Arbor Day Foundation and is a celebration of a community’s investment in their trees. The Growth Award shows that Burien has been going above and beyond the baseline requirements to steward their trees. This effort is a multi-department collaboration between Community Development, Parks Recreation and Cultural Services (PaRCS), Public Works, and King Conservation District.
In cities and neighborhoods, trees are proven to help mitigate the urban heat island effect, reduce stormwater runoff, improve air quality, and boost mental and physical health. When the right trees are planted in the right places, they can also reduce traffic noise, increase property values, and lower energy costs for homeowners.
Coast Salish peoples, this region’s original residents, have long relied on trees for essential food, medicine, and construction materials. Burien benefits from green space and environmental amenities that enrich the lives of residents and visitors and provides habitat for local flora and fauna, all of which require stewardship to ensure viability for future generations.
Planting trees and stewarding Burien’s urban forest helps our community take steps toward environmental justice. This designation is in line with the Green Burien Partnership Urban Forest Stewardship Plan which was adopted by Burien City Council in 2020, which sets a goal of increasing the health of our urban forest and equitably increasing tree canopy cover from 30% to 40% by 2038.
The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit with a mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. Its network of more than a million supporters and partners has helped the organization plant more than 500 million trees in forests and communities across more than 60 countries since 1972. The Tree City USA program has recognized cities and towns that leverage urban forestry to enhance the livability and sustainability of their local area for over 50 years.
To earn Tree City USA recognition, a city must uphold four core standards including maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry, and have an Arbor Day proclamation.
The Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City USA program is operated in partnership with the National Association of State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service. To learn more about the program or how to apply, visit arborday.org. The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees.
