NeighborWoods Program

About NeighborWoods

Through the NeighborWoods Program, the City of Olympia partners with its citizens to plant and care for neighborhood street trees. The City provides free trees and training - the citizens plant the trees, then care for them. Nearly 3000 street trees have been planted in the City of Olympia since the program began in 1998, and over 400 volunteers have been trained.

Free Trees!

No additional NeighborWoods workshops or free trees are available through the remainder of 2009. Congratulations to all our 2009 NeighborWoods participants who received new street trees!

Fall’s an ideal time to plant, so if you are planning to add street trees in front of your house on your own this season, check the NeighborWoods tree list for recommended trees, or contact the City’s Urban Forester. Make sure you are planting the right tree, in the right place!

How Does NeighborWoods Work?

There are four requirements to receive free trees through the NeighborWoods Program sponsored by the City of Olympia:

Residence must be located within the legal city limits of the City of Olympia
Recipient must attend a free 4-hour training workshop
Trees must be planted either within or adjacent to the City's rights of way as street trees
Recipient must commit to care for (plant, water, prune, mulch) the trees

Getting free trees is both fun and easy. Just follow the steps....

Step 1

Download the “Free Trees” application

Step 2

No additional Neighborwoods workshops or free trees will be available through the remainder of 2009.

Workshops are held at the Smith Building, 837 7th Ave SE, Olympia, 98501.

Step 3

Complete and return the application to:

City of Olympia, Urban Forestry
PO Box 1967
Olympia WA 98507 - or - Fax: 360.753.8087

Please submit the application at least 3 days in advance of the workshop you would like to attend

Step 4

Review the list of NeighborWoods tree varieties we currently have in stock in the city tree nursery. Spend time deciding what kind of tree qualities you are most interested in; for example, red leaves in the fall, pink flowers in the spring, or interesting bark.

Be sure to take into account your site conditions, including:

The width of your planting area
Are there overhead utility wires? If yes, your tree will need to mature at no more than 30 feet tall.
The condition of the soil.

Step 5

Attend a NeighborWoods Workshop. The workshops are interesting, educational, and fun! All workshops include at least an hour of outdoor activity, so bring appropriate clothing for working outdoors and in the dirt.

Step 6

"Reserve" the trees you want. The workshop instructor can answer any questions to help in the decision-making process.

Step 7