trees Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

To help cool the Tri-Cities, kids plant hundreds of trees for cooler parks, playgrounds

By Courtney Flatt October 2, 2024

A girl in a green shirt and a girl in a white shirt are holding yellow shovels. They are scooping dirt into a hole where a man in a blue shirt is holding onto a tree they are planting. In the background, there is a school building.

Elena Woodford and Alexis Nicholson help plant one of seven trees at Tapteal Elementary School. Alexis co-founded the Kids for Urban Trees club to plant trees in the community. (Credit: […]Read More

Court revokes protective order for historic Tumwater oak tree

By Courtney Flatt June 3, 2024

A historic 400-year-old tree in Thurston County could soon meet its end. A group of advocates are trying to save the Davis Meeker Garry oak in Tumwater, Washington, after the […]Read More

Greening Up A Formerly Redlined Neighborhood

By Lauren Gallup June 30, 2022

Ailene Ettinger with the Nature Conservancy installs a device to track air temperature on a utility pole in South Tacoma this January. Photo by Courtney Baxter.

On an early and rainy June day, Ailene Ettinger is using a power drill to install a small, metal device on a utility pole. The device is a temperature logger, housed under a white rectangular UV radiation shield. Once installed, it constantly measures air temperature in this South Tacoma neighborhood, sending the data via Bluetooth to an app that Ettinger checks on her phone.Read More

Money From Timber Sales A Drop In The Bucket For School Budgets

By Lauren Gallup January 25, 2022

Chris Reykdahl, Washington’s superintendent of public schools says he would like to see the state legislature commit to financing school construction, but not the traditional way. Read More

Pining For Whitebarks: Researchers Work Across The Northwest To Save ‘Quintessential Wilderness Trees’

By Courtney Flatt July 30, 2021

Tree climber Matt Zhun reaches through the branches of a whitebark pine to find cones.

If you’ve ever backpacked in the Northwest’s mountaintops, you’ve likely spent some time among whitebark pines. These important trees are bringing together researchers across the West, who want to save them from a fatal fungus.Read More

The Secret Life Of Trees: Researchers Probe Methane In Washington’s Coastal Forests

By Courtney Flatt March 9, 2021

Sequim-based researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have measured methane in trees and compared that to what’s escaping through the wood. Matt Norwood studied trees in Washington’s coastal forests and the East Coast. Courtesy of Matt Norwood/PNNL

Trees have a little secret you might not know about. Yes, they produce oxygen. Yes, they take in carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping greenhouse gas. But, they also emit methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas that can be significantly more potent than carbon dioxide.Read More

To help cool the Tri-Cities, kids plant hundreds of trees for cooler parks, playgrounds

Court revokes protective order for historic Tumwater oak tree

Greening Up A Formerly Redlined Neighborhood

Money From Timber Sales A Drop In The Bucket For School Budgets

Pining For Whitebarks: Researchers Work Across The Northwest To Save ‘Quintessential Wilderness Trees’

The Secret Life Of Trees: Researchers Probe Methane In Washington’s Coastal Forests

Trees That Survived California Drought May Hold Clue To Climate Resilience

The Northwest Juniper Lumber Industry Is Poised For A Healthy Bump

Western Seedling Shortage: Your Future Christmas Tree Might Be Hard To Find