What is the Urban Forest?
An urban forest is the collection of trees, plants, and green spaces, including those in parks, along streets, around homes, businesses, schools, and in open spaces. An urban forest provides shade, improves air and water quality, supports wildlife, reduces urban heat, and enhances the health and well-being of the community. Urban forests are essential for creating more livable, sustainable, and climate-resilient cities.
The City of Citrus Heights urban forest contains approximately 22,000 public trees along streets and roadways and Sunrise Recreation and Park District maintains more than 5,500 trees within its parks. The City’s tree composition includes over 175 unique species with Valley Oak being the most prevalent species. Both the City and the park district work hard to protect the community’s urban forest. Trees are an important part of Citrus Heights' infrastructure as they provide an array of benefits to our community that cannot be replicated.
How You Can Help Enhance Our Urban Forest
You can help enhance Citrus Heights' urban forest by:
- Planting additional trees at your residence or business
- Volunteer or host a community tree-planting or tree-pruning event
Plant the Right Tree in the Right Place
It's important to plant the right tree in the right place. The Sacramento Tree Foundation has an excellent resource catalog to help narrow down your tree selection. The catalog list includes over 80 of the best trees for the Sacramento region — trees that will thrive in our climate and soil, that are ideal for urban and suburban areas, and that are relatively free of serious pests and diseases.
Tree City USA Designation
In recognition of the City's efforts to protect our urban forest, the City is recognized with the Tree City USA designation. To qualify for Tree City USA designation, the City must meet four standards established by the Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters.
