Living up to the name “City of Trees” requires quite a bit of work, especially as Boise’s population grows. To that end, the Elaine Clegg City of Trees Challenge has planted 16,869 trees in the Boise area, and almost 150,000 seedlings in nearby forests since it was started in 2020.
The tree planting challenge was renamed last year in honor of former city council president Elaine Clegg, who is now the CEO at Valley Regional Transit.
The goal of the challenge is simple: Plant an urban tree for every household in the city, and a seedling in Idaho’s forests for every Boisean by 2030. If it’s successful, it’ll double Boise’s canopy coverage.
The Treasure Valley Canopy Network, the City of Boise, and the Nature Conservancy of Idaho have led this initiative through surveys, resources like this tree care guide, and sometimes even offering free trees.
A thermal map of evening temperatures across the valley show the correlation between trees and reduced heat. (Earthstar Geographics / Treasure Valley Canopy Network)
This challenge is a key part of the city’s climate action plan. The city estimates that planting 100,000 trees by 2030 will sequester almost 40 million pounds of carbon, remove 312,000 pounds of air pollutants, and conserve nearly 50 million kilowatt hours of energy by 2050.
With 83,000 trees left to plant before 2030, most of the focus is being directed toward places with fewer trees.
The coolest areas of Boise, like the North End and Bench, are up to 13 degrees cooler than areas with fewer trees, like downtown.
Homeowners in Boise can register a tree with the challenge, and it's the perfect time to do it, post-frost and pre-summer heat. As that summer heat keeps breaking records, we’re going to need to keep growing our urban canopy.
