Street Trees of Seattle: An Illustrated Walking Guide

by Taha Ebrahimi

The majestic trees of Seattle's neighborhoods take center stage in this illustrated and informative walking guide.


Using data visualization as a starting point, the author takes readers on a tour of existing street trees throughout Seattle's neighborhoods and iconic parks through charming illustrations and maps. In the process, she educates readers on the history of the trees and the city, and offers up sketches of trees, leaves, and leaflets to identify trees throughout 33 different neighborhoods. The most notable of each species are highlighted, so urban adventurers can fully appreciate their surroundings or design their own walking routes to experience these natural wonders in their favorite areas of the city.


The book is organized alphabetically by neighborhood and each

In an increasingly digital world, the book invites readers to slow down and embrace an analog approach to tree-spotting during their urban meanderings.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Outdoors

288 pages, Paperback

Published April 16, 2024

Reviews

[Miguel Buddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Way more going on here than you’d guess given the title and far deeper than a reference. This is a book full of the stories of places told through trees, filled with hand-drawn illustrations, thoughtful notes, and the joy of discovery and rediscovery of a place. No matter how interesting you find trees, you’ll understand Seattle and its history far more deeply after digging into this and using it as an inspiration to go wandering.

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely illustrated book takes you by neighborhood around the city and describes the various street trees and their history. Each neighborhood has a single species that she focuses on, but the neighborhood map contains references for all types of trees in that area.

Just walking around my neighborhood with her book informed me of what kinds of trees I was looking at. Since most street trees are introduced from other parts of the country (or the world), I am unfamiliar with many of them.

She identifies the largest specimens in the city (by diameter), which generally are the older trees. She doesn't give the actual diameters though, which is a bit disappointing.

This is not a comprehensive 'trees of Seattle' book, since there are many trees in parks, cemeteries, and on private property that are notable. These are the street trees, planted in parking strips or within other public right-of-way. The history of how they got there is pretty interesting.

If you're in Seattle, do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this book to check out the trees in your neighborhood. It'll also give you an excuse to take a walk in another neighborhood, always a good thing to do.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is currently a Peak Pick at the library. It's well worth checking out if you live in (or spend a lot of time in) Seattle. As someone in north seattle, it was delightful to recognize so many streets and reflect on my experiences walking through them in regards to the trees. Yes, the cherry trees in Sunset Hill on 33rd are included. A great mix of data, historical and tree background information, with a strong sense of place and excitement for our street trees.

[Hbop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Know your street trees!

[Gena · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much more than I expected - we've got history and culture overlayed with neighborhood maps and tree illustrations and storytelling. And I love that this was someone's pandemic project.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The black and white pen drawings for tree ID is... a choice. The stated fact that none of the tree ID tools nor the maps are "to scale or exact" (p xxiv) means users unfamiliar with either trees or Seattle streets will need an additional resource on-hand.

It will likely be of some interest at other regional libraries, but the very niche focus will mean libraries outside the Corridor can weed it once checkouts fizzle. There is the possibility for much of the content to become out of date rather quickly. This should be available at public libraries in the greater Seattle area, and at academic libraries in the state where collections focus on the environment and public policy. Public libraries in King County should keep a copy in any local history collection, even after the material becomes outdated due to changes in trees or streets. Individuals (who live anywhere but) who like to wander around on foot in Seattle are the best audience, and people super into the topic might want their own copy to mark up.

This strikes me mostly like someone's hyper-focus project. Just because you might have generated enough content to fill out a book doesn't mean it needs to exist as a book. "First-recorded and overall widest walnut when including right-of-way trees" (p 53) is not a meaningful factoid. The pages (scant pages, usually 2-3 paragraphs) with little introductory essays on individual tress are the most useful.

Program topics: none

Discussion prompts: none

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a delightful read! I very much enjoyed regaling everyone around me with interesting factoids as I read. It must be noted that the purpose of this book is not as a field guide to identify trees. While the illustrations are lovely, I am none the wiser in that regard after reading this book. I will also say that the “trees of note” listed at the end of each chapter were not particularly inspiring since they are all based solely on diameter. I would be more inclined to go on a walking tour to find some of these trees if I was looking for something more interesting than “third largest diameter maple street tree.” The best part of this book was learning more about the species of trees that populate Seattle and their history—when they were planted, who planted them and why. It was fascinating to learn more about the history of Seattle through its trees.

[Aley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Street Trees of Seattle is an extraordinary, informative, family read. It's a unique blend of history, science, and local knowledge which makes the information available in historical archives come alive. We entered this reading experience expecting to learn factual tree information, but were also presented with a comprehensive introduction to the complex history of how urban peoples have interacted with their environment. Perhaps the most surprising and delightful part of the reading experience was how interested our child became in the book. We would recommend this book to people of all ages who are interested in the wide range of topics it covers, especially those interested in nature books.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Seattleite who loves trees, I found this book about our street trees interesting. I can identify a lot of trees that are common here, but this book and its drawings helped me see that there are lots of trees I didn't know. It makes me want to take a walk with my tree guidebook more.

I missed that there wasn't more coverage of the north part of Seattle. The beautiful boulevards of various cultivars of Ash along NE 125th Street and 35th Ave NE are definitely worth inclusion! Also surprising to me that I didn't see Alder covered, as it's such a common tree here, but maybe not as much as a street tree.

Also, I already knew that Douglas-Fir is not a true fir, but was surprised to learn that Western Red Cedar is an arborvitae and not a true cedar!?

[Ashley Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun library find! This is such a great local read, as I am always on walks and admiring my surroundings and wishing I knew more about these big, beautiful trees around me! She also gives a ton of facts and exact locations of unique or record-breaking trees around town. I was not shocked to learn I live in one of the areas with the most Japanese cherry blossoms in town and feel endlessly blessed. I actually think this would be so cool to read with your kids and then go on walks to find ones from the book.

[Lecy Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the story behind this book, where essentially, Ebrahimi has undertaken a research project of cataloging the trees in Seattle, Washington, one of my favorite cities. There is so much work that has gone into this book, it's mindblowing. One thing I will note is that there are supposed to be illustrations as part of the book, but I didn't have these. I read an advanced reader copy, so perhaps those weren't in the edition I received, but I was disappointed that I couldn't view this supplemental material. *Advance reader copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[RE · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed learning more about my city and its trees. The illustrations added a pretty touch, and I liked how defining characteristics of types of trees were illustrated and explained. I learned a lot of fun facts through the deeper digs, neighborhood introductions, and on-this-day stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sasquatch Books for an ARC of this book.

[keara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great fit for anyone interested in learning more about the trees that grow amongst us in urban environments (specifically Seattle).

I have like 10 different people I can already think of that I want to gift this book to! Cannot wait to explore the city with this guide 💗

[lizzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Street Trees of Seattle is an adorable book! It's well written, the illustrations are beautiful and it's full of educational tidbits about the foliage of Seattle. I had no idea there were so many parks and I can't wait to visit them all!

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of oddly organized, but it has some interesting information.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really pretty and an interesting read!

[mila · Rating 5 out of 5]

FUCK YES THIS BOOK WAS MADE FOR ME!!!!!! now a staple in my bag when i go out so i can Look At Trees