TACOMA, Wash. — The City of Tacoma and surrounding cities will soon have more trees. This is because the Northwest Youth Corps was recently awarded millions of dollars to increase the urban tree canopy.
More than 300 young people in Washington are part of the Northwest Youth Corps, which works on different conservation projects throughout the state.
On Thursday an urban and community forestry crew was working to plant an oak tree and remove invasive plants in Lakewood, just outside of Tacoma.
While the young people take part in the program, they get paid for their work, gain skills, and give back to the community.
“The project that we're working on really focuses on improving and making more green spaces around Tacoma and Pierce County,” said Mckinlee Traynor, a participant with the Northwest Youth Corps.
The urban and community forestry crews remove invasive species and plant new trees in order to benefit both the community and the environment.
“It creates so much more habitat for new life,” said Traynor. “It brings oxygen to us, which is amazing.”
Soon the group will be able to plant even more trees around Tacoma.
“The Northwest Youth Corps was awarded $4 million here in Washington to run our urban and community forestry crews for the next five years,” said Laura Woodhouse, the Inclusion Program Coordinator for the Northwest Youth Corps Washington office.
The new funding from the U.S. Forest Service is aimed at helping to reach the City of Tacoma’s goal of 30% tree coverage by 2030. Woodhouse said right now it is around 20% coverage.
“Closer to where we are now in more like South Tacoma, it can get as low as like 8% or 6% tree canopy coverage,” said Woodhouse. “And that has some really serious effects for our communities. You know, trees help to clean the air in the area.”
She said these young people are making a big difference.
“Everyone that's doing it is super passionate about it and that makes it easy to have a lot of hope for where we're going,” said Woodhouse.
To learn how to join the Northwest Youth Corps, click here.