As he planted trees along Hwy 99 and Fairfield, Jere Rosemeyer reflected on how his Bethel neighborhood has changed over his 35 years in the community.

“We would have preferred it to not quite so much overdevelop,” said Rosemeyer. “We sure would like to see more trees.”

More trees was why Rosemeyer and several other volunteers from the Bethel neighborhood came out on Sunday, April 10, to plant trees along Hwy 99. This is an area with several buildings, pavement, and industrial areas, but not that many trees. When natural land coverings, such as trees, are replaced with surfaces that absorb and retain heat, such as pavement and buildings, there is a strong urban heat island effect. Bethel’s urban heat island effect is causing the neighborhood to become hotter than areas of Eugene with more tree cover.

“It’s an area in town that has been historically really underplanted and there’s a lot less trees out here, so temperatures can be hotter,” said Michaela Shannon, arborist for the City of Eugene.

The two tree planting sessions attracted 8 volunteers in March 2022  and 12 in April 2022, along with several arborists working for the city of Eugene. The volunteers came together to improve their neighborhood’s health by planting trees, including giant sequoias, western redcedar, and crape myrtles. While there is strong support in Bethel for tree planting, the support is not unanimous.

Rosemeyer and others who are planting trees hope to improve the tree canopy in the long term. According to Heidi Lakics, an urban forestry technician with the City of Eugene, one of the giant sequoias she helped plant at the April event could survive as long as 1,000 years.

Lin Woodrich, co-chair of Active Bethel Community, the neighborhood association in Bethel, attended both plantings.

“What we’ve accomplished here is two things, one is making Hwy 99 a little bit better, and it needs that desperately, plus we’ve also added to the tree canopy,” she said.

According to an urban tree canopy map of Eugene, some areas in Bethel have as low as 5% tree canopy, with a Tree Equity Score as low as 47. The Tree Equity Score was developed by American Forests to demonstrate which areas are sparse in tree canopy and which have many trees. It can be used by anyone, ranging from activists to congressional leaders to city planners. A Tree Equity Score is determined by combining community and environmental data, including health index, surface temperature, percentage of people in poverty, percentage of seniors age 65 and older, percentage of children age 0 to 17, percentage of people of color, and percentage of those who are unemployed. 

Bethel’s score contrasts with wealthier in south Eugene, which in general have both higher tree canopy percentage and tree equity scores. Some scores are as high as 100, with canopy percentage into the 60s.

Bethel’s tree inequity motivated Woodrich to come out and help plant.

“Our goal is to have our tree canopy equal to the more affluent parts of Eugene,” said Woodrich.

Bethel hairstylist Michealena Bohannon first heard about the event through an email from Woodrich. Bohannon described Woodrich as like her “adopted stepmom,” and that she encouraged her to volunteer.

“I love plants and trees and it makes such a difference for the environment,” she said. “That’s my wheelhouse. I like to be outside.”

Jeremy and Ali AAsum also volunteered for the April tree planting event. They moved to Bethel about three years ago and have been looking for ways to get involved. 

“Planting trees is a great way to bring more beauty to our neighborhood in places that need it,” Ali AAsum said.

“We got involved through the J.H. Baxter pollution issue with the neighborhood, and that’s how we got plugged in with Active Bethel Community and some other groups in town,” Jeremy AAsum added. “So that’s really what led us out here, and now we’re just trying to make the neighborhood as nice as we can.”

J.H. Baxter, a wood treatment facility in Bethel, has had a long history of pollution issues. According to a DEQ penalty notice sent to the company in 2021, they were fined $223,000 for multiple violations. The plant closed on January 31, 2022.

Alison Coluccio, the lab manager for the Spero Lab at the University of Oregon’s Institute of Molecular Biology, also volunteered to improve the Bethel neighborhood she lives in. 

“I feel like this area deserves as much attention and safety and beauty as the rest of the city,” she said.

Bethel stands out for its low tree canopy percentage and equity score, but there are other areas in Eugene with forest health challenges as well.

Scott Altenhoff, an Urban Forestry Management Analyst with the City of Eugene, said that tree canopy cover at Hayward Field was lost when the stadium was rebuilt from 2018 to 2020. Hayward Field was renovated for several reasons to increase infrastructure and amenities for events such as the 2022 World Athletics Championships in July. In all, 22 trees were removed. With fewer trees, Hayward Field is in an urban heat island.

Altenhoff explained a formula developed by Cecil Konijnendijk, an urban forester, called the 3-30-300 rule. According to the rule, people should see at least 3 trees from their home, every neighborhood should have at least 30% tree canopy, and that trees should be at least 300 meters, or 1000 feet, from a park. Eugene lags behind in regard to this formula.

“We currently have 22%,” said Altenhoff in regards to tree canopy. He added that there is work to be done, but they are hopeful they can reach the 30% mark by 2030.

Not everyone supports the tree plantings. At least one business owner objects to the idea.

Altenhoff explained that the owner of a Subway restaurant and other structures in Bethel, near where the March 10 planting occurred, was not on board with the new trees planted on that day.

“That property owner has demanded that we remove most, if not all of those trees because he wasn’t notified that that planting would go on,” said Altenhoff.  He added, “We’re in the process of negotiation, but it’s really not a negotiation. This is public property.”

The owner, Nick Boyles, disagrees.

“To my best knowledge, ODOT was the one who owned all of that property,” said Boyles, who manages properties for his mother and father in law. He added that after contacting the Oregon Department of Transportation, they are in the process of transferring the property to the city of Eugene. However, the transfer has not yet been finalized.

Boyles said that he first saw the trees driving by on his way to work. He was never notified that they would be planted.

“We were not notified at our office. We were not notified through my mother and father in law. The tenants that occupy the buildings were not notified,” said Boyles.

Boyles’ opposition centers mostly on the maintenance that comes with cleaning up after the trees and the damage to the landscaping that he is required to take care of. When he mentioned his opposition to the members of Active Bethel Community, however, they said that he would have to live with it.

“They haven’t even talked,” he said. “I mean, we had that one conversation. Then I sent the email with all of my concerns and what I wanted, and nothing has happened since then.” He added that Altenhoff is leaving the City of Eugene on Friday, June 10. In essence, Boyles’ contact person will be gone.

With Altenhoff leaving, negotiations could be even harder than they are now.

“He’s willing to work with the owner,” Woodrich said of Altenhoff, “but the owner isn’t really working to work with us at this point.”

Boyles, however, said that it’s the other way around.

“I am willing to work with them,” Boyles said. “But they aren’t, I mean, it’s been three months since they planted everything, and nobody has done anything.”

It remains to be seen how this will play out. Boyles said that if no resolution is reached by the World Athletics Championships in Eugene this July, he will remove the trees planted on March 10. 

Despite this, there is reason for optimism. Woodrich hopes that the tree plantings can make a positive impact in a community that so desperately needs them.

“Every little bit helps,” Woodrich said.

Sidebar: The influence of Eugene’s forests beyond the city

The influence of Eugene’s urban forests have gone beyond the city. In fact, they have stretched beyond the United States.

Kateryna Polianska, a landscape ecologist and physical geographer from Kyiv, Ukraine, came to Eugene as part of a fellowship with the American English Institute at the University of Oregon. She went on a tour with Altenhoff to discuss urban forests. Her goal is to help rebuild tree canopy and green spaces in Ukraine following the war.

“They were destroyed by the missiles,” Polianska said of cities in northern, eastern, and southern Ukraine. “I collect information on how we can create and restore green zones.” 

Polianska also expressed praise for the trees in Eugene.

“Eugene, it’s like a set of gardens,” she said.