City celebrates Arbor Day with 75 new trees downtown

On Tuesday, April 30, Mayor Lucy Vinis joined City of Eugene staff in an Arbor Day celebration that served as a kick-off for a planting initiative that will add 75 new trees to downtown Eugene.

Following the reading of the Arbor Day proclamation, Mayor Vinis planted the first tree outside the Lane County Farmer's Market Pavilion. Vinis named the tree "Kitty's Korner" in honor of former Eugene mayor Kitty Piercy.

Eugene has earned the Tree City USA status for the last 45 consecutive years, but staff and community members have noted that the urban canopy downtown is patchy. With this collaborative effort, the City of Eugene is bringing a needed boost of greenery and investing in creating a safe and vibrant downtown core that reflects the spirit and values of our community.

"Downtown Eugene is the civic, cultural, and commercial center of our community, and the City is spearheading efforts to invest in vibrancy and sense of place in the area," said Eric Brown, City of Eugene Downtown Manager. "This effort will create a more resilient downtown, combating the urban heat island affect, while contributing to the livability and sense of place at the heart of our community."

The tree planting project has been a collaboration between the City of Eugene Parks and Open Space's Urban Forestry program and the Planning and Development Department's Prosperity Team.

Using Urban Renewal funding, 1,000 square feet of concrete has been removed within the downtown district to make room for trees. By removing sections of concrete, existing tree planting locations were improved, new planting sites were added, and trip hazards due to broken concrete were removed.

On Tuesday, City staff and community volunteers planted 45 new trees in those new and improved planting sites. Urban Forestry will continue to plant through the week for a total of 75 new trees planted across the wider downtown area.