Traffic circles, highway on- and off-ramps, and miles of grassy corridor are underutilized open-spaces in urban areas.

Trees shade out the grass and weeds which helps cut down on maintenance costs.

Working with the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Environmental Services Tree Program has planted nearly 1,100 trees along I-5, I-84, I-205, and Highway 30.

Growing the urban forest in underused open-spaces – here a highway on-ramp cloverleaf grows from a few trees to more than 50.

Working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation at NE 42nd and Lombard in the Concordia and Cully neighborhoods, members of the community helped us design and plant a unique arboretum of more than 50 special trees that will form a gateway to these diverse neighborhoods and improve the local environment for residents. Native trees like the Oregon white oak and ponderosa pine provide important food and habitat, while drought-tolerant evergreens from the southwest, like the Durango pine and silver leaf oak, help prepare the urban forest for climate change. Trees from multiple continents celebrate a diverse community, and American smoke trees accent and beautify the arboretum.

Growing the urban forest in underused open-spaces – below, a highway exchange grows
from a few trees to more than 50

Below, Lombard and 42nd Avenue before and after