Seeking Reliable Tree Stewards!

Seattle Public Schools needs your help to steward newly planted trees for schools throughout the city during the summer months. Sign up will open in April to become a Tree Steward at a school near you!

• This is a rewarding and fun activity for families and individuals of all ages.
• Great way to help increase tree canopy in Seattle and positively impact the physical and mental well-being of our communities.
• Take your photo with the tree(s) under your care on day one and watch it grow through the years!

Would you like to plant a tree at your school?

Trees require a five year commitment to summer watering to ensure long-term success, and school sites often come with unique considerations. Our team is here to help you get started, submit a Volunteer Enhancement Projects Application to begin.

The city of Seattle has partnered with SPS Volunteer Enhancement Projects formerly know as Volunteer Enhancement Projects to provide free trees to our schools. Learn more on the Trees for Neighborhoods website.

Thank you for helping us grow strong trees so everyone can enjoy their environmental and health benefits!

John H. Stanford Memorial Grove

The John H. Stanford Memorial Grove was originally established in 2001 to create a living legacy for its namesake. John H. Stanford was superintendent from 1995 until his untimely passing from leukemia on Nov. 28, 1998. The original Memorial Grove contained 70 trees, in the years since planting many have been lost due to obscurity, construction, and health. In 2024, the grounds department re-established the grove with the identification of unique species and noteworthy specimens on every school site being labeled as part of the Memorial grove. With this update we hope to continue to honor the memory of John H. Stanford and highlight the diverse tree canopy that exists on Seattle Public Schools property. These trees represent a mix of mature and young trees to highlight our connections to the past, present, and future. These trees demonstrate many notable attributes like flowers, fall color, notable bark, fruit, leaf shape, and size and provide essential habitat for wildlife. If you are interested in supporting additional tree canopy on SPS property, please contact VEP@seattleschools.org.

Inventory

The most recent inventory of John H. Stanford Memorial Grove:

Central Region

School	Tag #	Common Name	Scientific Name	Notes
B.F Day	36	Zelkova	Zelkova Serrata	East Front
Beacon Hill	43	Golden Atlas Cedar	Cedrus Atlantica ‘Aurea’	Entrance
Cascade PPP	52	Boulevard Cypress	Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Boulevard’	South of driveway
Catharine Blaine	38	Persian Ironwood	Parrotia persica	South of left entry
Coe	50	Pacific Madrone	Arbutus menziesii	Between buildings
Garfield	44	Variegated Western Red Cedar	Thuja plicata ‘Zebrina’	SW corner of 23rd and E Alder St
Gatzert	45	Southern Magnolia	Magnolia grandiflora	Entrance West
Hamilton International	35	Ginkgo	Ginkgo biloba	SW corner of building
Hay	51	Sweetgum	Liquidamber styraciflua	West of entrance (2nd tree)
John Stanford International	34	Alaska Yellow Cedar	Cupressus nootkatensis	North near amphitheater
John Stanford Center	56	Italian Cypress	Cupressus sempervirens	South Entrance
Kimball	41	Ginkgo	Ginkgo biloba	New Front Entrance
Lawton	39	Kousa Dogwood	Cornus kousa	Front Entrance
Leschi	26	Raywood Ash	Fraxinus angustifolia	Entrance
Lowell	48	Persian Ironwood	Parrotia persica	NE in playground near memorial tree
Magnolia	37	Southern Magnolia	Magnolia grandiflora	South side door
Madrona	46	Vine Maple	Acer circinatum	Entrance Left
Mann	25	Japanese Maple	Acer palmatum spp.	TBD
Marshall	40	Sawara False Cypress	Chamaecyparis pisifera	West side door
McClure	49	Spruce	Picea	NW between parking and building
McDonald	54	Lawson Cypress	Chamaecyparis lawsoniana	South side near ADA sign
McGilvra	27	Persian Ironwood	Parrotia persica	NW ROW
Meany	32	Kousa Dogwood	Cornus kousa	East side of secondary entrance
Mercer	TBD	Blue Atlas Cedar	Cedrus atlantica	Within ramp center at main entrance
Montlake	TBD	Bowhall Red Maple	Acer rubrum ‘Bowhall’	Main Entrance
Muir	42	Giant Sequoia	Sequoiadendron giganteum	West Entrance
Queen Anne	53	Red Pine	Pinus resinosa	NW corner on Boston Street
Stevens	33	European Beech	Fagus sylvatica	North bulkhead
Thurgood Marshall	31	Japanese Maple	Acer palmatum spp.	Eastside entrance
Tops K-8	57	Western Red Cedar	Thuja plicata ‘Zebrina’	Corner of Boylston and E Louisa St
Washington	30	Carolina Silverbell	Halesia carolina	Front of Jackson
World	47	Strawberry Tree	Arbutus unedo	East entrance
Hawthorne	28	Japanese Maple	Acer palmatum spp.	West side
Columbia	29	Blue Spruce	Picea pungens	SE Entrance
Franklin HS	55	Coastal Redwood	Sequoia sempervirens	Heritage tree on hill

North Region

School	Tag #	Common Name	Scientific Name	Notes
Adams	58	Tulip Tree	Liriodendron tulipifera	East entrance
Bagley	69	Alpine Fir	Abies lasiocarpa	SE Corner of property,  (plaque located under tree from tree planting for George Washington bi-centennial) 1932
Ballard HS	88	White Pine	Pinus strobus	Maine entry level 1
Broadview Thomson	70	Coast Silk Tassel	Garrya elliptica	Front bed west
Bryant	77	Sawara cypress	Chamaecyparis pisifera	NE Corner of building
Cascadia	79	Katsura	Cercidiphyllum japonicum	South side west of entrance by bike rack
Cedar Park	72	Thread branch cypress	Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera’	Northside right of stairs
Decatur	62	Mountain Hemlock	Tsuga mertensiana	Courtyard
Green Lake	60	Hinoki Cypress	Chamaecyparis obtusa	West Side
Greenwood	84	Western Red Cedar	Thuja plicata	Southside west of historic entrance
Hazel Wolf	90	Persian Ironwood	Parrotia persica	Playground
Ingraham	71	Blue Spruce	Picea pungens	East of fire lane
James Baldwin	83	Madrona	Arbutus menziesii	Southeast corner of entrance driveway
Jane Adams	81	Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar	Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca Pendula’	East side entrance, south of sidewalk
John Rogers	TBD	Shumard Oak	Quercus shumardii	North building entry
Laurelhurst	75	Japanese Hornbeam	Carpinus japonica	Northwest side of entry, N of flagpole
Licton Springs (Webster)	85	Incense Cedar	Calocedrus decurrens	NW 67th St bulkhead
Lincoln	65	Deodar cedar	Cedrus deodara	Left of historic entrance
Loyal Heights	86	Stewartia	Stewartia pseudocamellia	Northeast side entrance
Nathan Hale	82	Japanese Red Pine	Pinus densiflora	Westside, North of parking lot entrance
North Beach	87	Columnar Red Maple	Acer rubrum ‘Columnare’	West side, North lawn area of entry
Olympic Hills	73	Atlas Cedar	Cedrus atlantica	SW corner of property
Olympic View	78	Vine Maple	Acer circinatum	Southside left of entry in shrub bed
Robert Eagle Staff	80	Scarlet Oak	Quercus coccinea	Westside lonicera bed
Roosevelt	91	Ginkgo	Ginkgo biloba	South side east corner
Sacajawea	92	Japanese Hornbeam	Carpinus japonica	South side, front
Salmon Bay	67	Hinoki false cypress	Chamaecyparis obtusa	South front left corner
Sand Point	76	Blue Spruce	Picea pungens	West side north of entrance
Thornton Creek	63	Mountain Hemlock	Tsuga mertensiana	Decatur Courtyard
View Ridge	64	Japanese maple	Acer japonica	East side, right of entry
Viewlands	89	Deodar Cedar	Cedrus deodara	3rd Ave NW next to main parking
Wedgwood	74	Blue Spruce	Picea pungens	SW corner of building
West Woodland	66	Japanese Dogwood	Cornus kousa	Northeast corner, by fan
Whitman	59	White fir	Abies concolor	SW, near parking lot between WMS and parks
Whittier	68	Saucer Magnolia	Magnolia x soulangeana	Left of Main entrance

South Region

School	Tag #	Common Name	Scientific Name	Notes
Alki	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Arbor Heights	99	Paper Bark Maple	Acer griseum	Parking lot island
Boren	93	White Oak	Quercus alba	Parking lot driveway exit
Chief Sealth	22	Giant sequoia	Sequoia giganteum	Front of school
Cleveland	21	Western Red Cedar	Thuja plicata	Corner of 15th and Lucille by sign
Concord	100	Columnar Pin Oak	Quercus palustris ‘Green Pillar’	Outer bank on SE of property
Dearborn Park Int’l	13	Swamp Spanish Oak	Quercus palustris	Parking lot island
Denny	96	Giant Sequoia	Sequoia sempervirens	Base of west bank by parking lot
Dunlap	5	Green Ash	Fraxinus pennsylvanica	Driveway Entrance
E.C Hughes	18	Southern magnolia	Magnolia grandiflora	North of Entry
Emerson	3	Deodar Cedar	Cedrus deodara	Main Entry staircase
Fairmount Park	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Gatewood	97	Giant Sequoia	Sequoia sempervirens	TBD
Genesee Hill	20	Mountain hemlock	Tsuga mertensiana	Corner of Genesse and 51st street
Graham Hill	12	English Walnut	Juglans regia	East of West parking lot
Highland Park	95	Ironwood	Parrotia persica	East lawn slope, outside playground
Lafayette	23	Japanese Hornbeam	Carpinus japonica	Raised bed on Lander Street
Madison MS	16	Tulip Tree	Liriodendron tulipifera	East of north parking lot
Maple	14	White Oak	Quercus alba	Behind parking lot swing gate
MLK JR	9	Sweetgum	Liquidamber styraciflua	Bed right of main entrance
Orca K-8	11	Japanese maple	Acer palmatum	By loading dock
Pathfinder	101	Coast Redwood	Sequoia sempervirens	Front lawn
Rainier Beach	TBD	Oregon White oak	Quercus garryana	Main Entrance planting bed
Rainier View	2	Ruby Vase Ironwood	Parrotia persica ‘Ruby Vase’	Front traffic circle bed
AAA Rising Star	7	Japanese zelkova	Zelkova serrata	Front entrance planter
Sanislo	94	Douglas Fir	Pseudotsuga menziesii	Parking lot
Schmitz Park	17	Sourwood	Oxydendrum arboreum	Between front stairs
Southshore K-8	6	California incense cedar	California decurrens	Front yard south
Sugiyama	4	Coast Redwood	Sequoia sempervirens	Main entry
Van Asselt	24	Japanese Dogwood	Cornus kousa	Lawn area off Beacon Ave
West Seattle ES	19	London Plane	Platanus x acerifolia	Buffer between school and housing north side
West Seattle HS	15	London Plane	Platanus x acerifolia	By NW lot exit off to California
Wing Luke	8	Giant sequoia	Sequoiadendron giganteum	Between parking lot gates
Aki Kurose MS	9	Japanese maple	Acer palmatum	Between mid and east entrance