How Many Partners Does It Take to Plant 1 Million Trees?

by Chris Mantegna and Kaitlan Harbaugh

It takes 548 trees a day to plant one million trees in five years—King County and their partners are on pace to meet and exceed that goal by the end of the year.

In 2015, the King County Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP) set an ambitious goal: in just five years, one million trees would be planted throughout the county. The task was daunting, and was compounded by the fact that no initial internal funding existed and countless logistical challenges led to a delayed launch to the project. However, as of today, King County has planted 921,111 trees – an impressive 92% of their initial goal. This massive planting efort was ultimately successful because of strong community partners, many volunteers, and unwavering dedication from county employees.

The 1 Million Tree initiative was motivated by mounting impacts of climate change in the Pacifc Northwest. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at an all-time high, and tree planting has been one of the main ways that cities and counties have been counteracting emissions. As trees grow, they remove the carbon dioxide out of the air and replace it with oxygen. This exchange of gases is especially critical in urban areas, which are hotspots for carbon emissions.

Jessica Engel, the Program Director of 1 Million Trees, described the many challenges confronting the project when first launched. “Everyone was on board with it, but there was no money or staffing resources attached,” Engel shared. “We had some staff turnover and it ended up in my lap, and it was really more of a partnership building initiative than I would say anything else.” Forming partnerships quickly became the priority and community pillars like The Nature Conservancy were crucial in convening resources to support the initiative.

Although large community partners were major contributors to the program, its success was supported by every partner and volunteer that participated. Organizations such as Mountains to Sound Greenway, Forterra, and Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust all contributed funding and supported the planting of the trees; this was amplifed by an overwhelming volunteer response. Engel emphasized that: “We really felt that every single tree that went into the ground, whether it was one from a city, or hundreds of thousands from a city, were really important and told the story of how trees are getting planted across our region.” Early press and site choice showcased larger partners because of their built-in volunteer bases, funding, and critical information on where trees could make the best impact. Those partners drove a surge in the number of volunteers in the Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) with the bulk of the early plantings done in established green spaces. Plantings were completed in community parks and neighborhood spaces that needed refurbishment or replenishment, as well as new plantings in untouched areas.

AS OF TODAY, KING COUNTY HAS PLANTED 921,111 TREES 92% OF THEIR INITIAL GOAL

The immediate impact of planting one million trees is difcult to measure when using such an informal process. There are a variety of partners working with King County that have agendas for their own success in tree planting, and a way to be mindful of their workload was to keep data reporting as informal and expeditious as possible. Engel didn’t want paperwork or reporting to be a burden or deal breaker for agencies and organizations. Every tree planted counts and keeping the participation barrier low meant smaller agencies could participate without overextending their staff or funds. Even though there isn’t a consensus on planting data, there are pockets of valuable qualitative data. Larger agencies, like University of Washington (UW) have dedicated units to proactively manage and track such information. Sara Shores, an Urban Forest Specialist with UW Campus Grounds Management, can not only show planting location, but tree species as well with the help of visual tracking tools. Student participants in the UW Society for Ecological Restoration were integral in getting the native tree species in the ground that contributed to King County’s count.

Engel is the frst to present learning opportunities as well as achievements from the last five years. Partnership building and strengthening have been successes to celebrate, with room for improvement in data collection, and strategy are also key players in developing the foundation being used as a template for the standalone forestry initiative, the 30-Year Forest Plan. Helmed by Kathleen Farley Wolf, the 30-Year Forest Plan shifts focus from the singular goal of tree planting to the multi-beneft outcomes of the broader management of forest cover and forest health to gain climate and human health benefts as well.

Information sharing with the larger 1 Million Tree partners allowed King County to leverage the momentum created by the initiative and think critically about how to translate that momentum into concrete outcomes for the 30-Year Forest Plan. These partners conduct landscape surveys and have specific beneficial information. For example, canopy coverage measurements in urban areas helped to guide King County to priority locations, locations that can make the largest impact on vital projects. “We’re definitely looking at what kind of metrics we can track, what are good measures of success, and how we will prioritize those projects in the 30-Year Forest Plan”, says Engel.

The 30-Year Forest Plan is currently in the fourth of five phases, the analysis phase, where input from partners and stakeholders is evaluated. During the next six months the plan will be finalized to include directly addressing co-benefits like the mitigation of stormwater runoff and salmon habitat restoration. King County has initiatives in environmental and social justice and equity that will be among the highest priorities in the 30-Year Forest Plan. Equity issues aimed at air quality management, stormwater management, and urban heat islands, speak to how trees can be one of the solutions to provide those co-benefits. Targeted tree planting and maintenance in urban areas, where there is a growing push for urban forestry initiatives, are also up for discussion. As Farley Wolf points out, King County’s jurisdiction is in unincorporated areas and those areas are in predominantly rural parts of the county, but that does not preclude plans that can provide more support in urban areas.

THE 1 MILLION TREES INITIATIVE DEMONSTRATES THE POWER OF COLLECTIVE ACTION AND COLLABORATION.

“This partnership demonstrates the power of collaboration. The 1 Million Trees initiative demonstrates the power of collective action. King County recognized that tree planting provides a myriad of benefts, particularly in and near urban areas,” says Mackenzie Dolstad, Senior Manager of the Stewardship Program at Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust.

As the 30-Year Forest Plan moves into its final stages before release, it is impossible not to look back at 1 Million Trees in its totality. Maintaining upwards of 99+ community relationships is no small feat, and Farley Wolf is up to the task. Engel sees King County as the convener of this initiative, not the leader, and as Farley Wolf takes the reins, she too subscribes to the value of community collaboration. After working as a professor for more than a decade, she joined King County to make immediate impact with the 30-Year Forest Plan.

“I love being able to serve the people of King County. I am awestruck and inspired by how much work goes on in this region around tree planting, in forest health, and how that all connects to so many other things that are for this region. To be able to bring over 99 partners together to achieve something in such a short amount of time is incredible, and I’m looking forward to those conversations continuing with the 30-Year Forest Plan,” says Engel.

Even though plans for celebrating the successful completion of the initiative have been postponed, both Engel and Farley Wolf look forward to the chance to thank all partners and celebrate together. In the meantime, the SCAP is being updated to refect the successes of the initiative. Engel will continue her work as a water quality planner. She is working with county property owners to develop a green stormwater infrastructure incentive program for unincorporated King County where she can continue to use her partnership building skills in the community.