Urban Forestry

Arbor Day

The Urban Forestry Division (UFD) celebrates Arbor Day each year with an array of initiatives, including a free tree seedling giveaway, virtual tree tour and tree of the year award.

Virtual Downtown Tree Tour

Area residents are invited to experience and enjoy an online tour highlighting several prominent trees in downtown Wake Forest. Structured around an interactive map, the virtual tour provides the name and location of each tree, along with a photo and brief description.

Take the Tour

Tree of the Year 

The UFD accepts nominations each year for the Wake Forest Tree of the Year award. Trees may be nominated for their size, species, historic significance, personal meaning, community benefit or general notoriety – but they must be located within the Wake Forest town limits. To submit your choice, visit http://bit.ly/WFTreeofYear, complete the nomination form and upload a photo of your tree.

Finalists will be selected by Town staff, then voted on by the community. The tree that receives the most votes will be announced as the winner on Arbor Day, while the submitter will receive a certificate crowning their tree as the Wake Forest Tree of the Year.

Nominate Your Tree

Urban Forestry Overview

TreesWake Forest's Urban Forestry Program provides for the care and maintenance of the town's trees. The program is responsible for administering the town's Tree Ordinance by overseeing the planting, removal and maintenance of trees and other vegetation located on public property and rights-of-way.

The program is administered by the town's Urban Forestry Coordinator and the Wake Forest Urban Forestry Board. Established in 1978 as an advisory board to the Board of Commissioners, the UFB's mission has evolved to include citizen participation and public education through community-wide landscaping projects and informative seminars.

Interactive Map

The interactive map below shows our records of street and park trees, stumps, and forests within areas that are maintained by the Town of Wake Forest. This data was collected by Davey Tree Experts in 2004 and by Urban Forestry staff in 2013 and 2014.

The species, trunk diameter (in inches), and the date of collection are listed for each recorded tree. Any tree that grows on both sides of a property line is the shared responsibility of the Town and the adjacent landowner, and some ornamental trees included within this map are not actively maintained by the Town. For some newer developments, trees have not yet been inventoried and mapped.

Our goal is to periodically update portions of this inventory to ensure that each tree is inspected at least once every five years, and that each record is less than 5 years old. Due to the technology used, the location of some trees may be inaccurate. The Town of Wake Forest does not make any warranty, expressed or implied, nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the data provided. The data do not take the place of a professional survey and have no legal bearing on the true shape, size, location, or existence of a tree, geographic feature, property line, or political representation. If you have a question about whether the Town is responsible for the maintenance of a particular tree or forested area, please contact the Urban Forestry Division.

Please note, over 15,000 trees are represented in the map so please be patient while the map loads. Click on a colorful dot to view more information about the trees in your community.


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