Tyler Graham

University of Oregon Students walk through forested areas on campus on Feb. 5, 2025 (Tyler Graham/Emerald)

As part of Eugene’s 2020 Climate Action Plan, the city’s urban forestry program is working toward increasing the tree canopy coverage to 30% by 2030, concentrating on underserved and lower-income neighborhoods in Eugene. 

“We want to plant because it allows the community to receive all of the tangible and intangible benefits that trees offer,” Spencer Crawford, a city urban forestry specialist, said. “That includes lower heating bills from shade, and studies even show that lifespans of people living near trees are longer.”

According to the city’s Climate Action plan, in 2020 the average tree canopy cover in Eugene was roughly 23%. Beginning in 2020, the city aimed to increase canopy coverage by 3% annually until 2025. This year, the city is aiming to increase canopy coverage by 7% annually until the year 2030. 

The city’s planting initiatives aim to address environmental and social inequities. “Our program is focused on the trees we actively plant in areas that have been defined as having inequity: areas of lower-income households, lower employment and more economic diversity,” Crawford said.

Local environmental groups share this priority, and Erik Burke, the director of Eugene’s Friend of Trees organization, emphasized the importance of community involvement. 

“Our priority is to plant in underserved, low canopy (and) low-income areas,” Burke said. “People tend to trust their neighbors more than they trust the government or people from a nonprofit. The more community-led the effort, the better.”

Burke described one of these community-led efforts, “A community religious group in west Eugene is going door to door to 400 homes, offering free or discounted trees to residents in an underserved neighborhood in West Eugene.” 

Nature itself plays a significant role in Eugene’s urban tree canopy. Burke said it’s generally assumed that in cities about 80% of trees planted by nature and about 20% are by humanity. 

However, ensuring the right trees are planted in the right places requires intention and effort. Burke said he believes engaging people in hands-on work fosters a stronger connection to their work. “People learn and become connected to things through physical work in the convivial company of others,” he said.

Beyond immediate tree-planting efforts, Burke said he believes a long-term cultural shift is essential to sustaining Eugene’s urban tree canopy and forestation worldwide. “We need to invest in generations of effort to help each other relearn stewardship skills,” he said. “The biggest long-term solution is to change our way of life.”