Urban Forestry

Duties & Responsibilities

The mission of the Urban Forestry Division is to enhance the quality of life for the Durham community by providing professional quality tree care on City property and in City rights-of-way. This Division is dedicated to the pruning, planting, removal, and protection of trees using the latest arboriculture techniques and safety standards. 

A comprehensive list of the City of Durham's goals and strategies as it relates to tree care can be found in the City of Durham Urban Forest Management Plan.

Tree Request Form

If you would like to request a street tree by your property, please fill out the Tree Request Form.  While we do our best to fulfill species requests, our selection is limited by the availability of trees we have in stock each planting season. In all cases, the City will pick an appropriate species for each planting site while taking into consideration the presence of utilities (below and above ground), car visibility, nearby structures, and planting space. 

Please note that our tree planting season runs from November through March. Any requests made during or after the month of September will likely not be fulfilled until the following planting season. Requests are fulfilled in the order that they are received.

Grant Funding for Additional City Trees

Four-thousand new trees will line the streets of Durham thanks to a multimillion dollar federal grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The City of Durham and Keep Durham Beautiful were selected to receive a $5.3 million Urban and Community Forestry Grant. The grant money will be used to plant trees in to-be-determined disadvantaged areas across the city as identified by the City using the federal government’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool. These areas are also targets of the federal government’s Justice40 Initiative.

Durham Open Access Woodyard

Woodyard FAQ (Spanish)
Terms and Conditions (Spanish)