Oak Tree Park - Joint Base Lewis McChord

M Updated
Oak Tree Park in Tacoma, Washington State
Oak Tree in Tacoma, Washington State
Oak Tree Park Map in Tacoma, Washington State

City Listings

City Listing Category

Geographical Address

City
Duty Station(s)
Public Address
7633 S Montgomery St Tacoma, WA 98407 DIRECTIONS

Contact Info

COMM
+1 (253) 759-9286 | +1 253-305-1000
Operating Hours
Open ½ hour before sunrise | Close ½ hour after sunset

Oak Tree Park is a 25-acre parcel that features one of the last remnants of the Garry oak habitat that used to dominate this part of the city.

This park was established in 1996. The playground (which is not owned or maintained by Metro Parks Tacoma) is located at S. Cedar & S. 74th Street.

Partners

Oak Tree Park is a pilot project of the Green Tacoma Partnership, a collaborative effort to inventory and assess Tacoma’s green spaces and develop a plan for their protection and restoration. The Green Tacoma Partnership is coordinated by Tahoma Audubon and Forterra.

A Native Oak Ecosystem

Garry oak woodlands are special ecosystems that established themselves on areas of gravelly soil left behind by glaciers 15,000 years ago. Native Americans actively maintained oak prairies in the Northwest for thousands of years to keep the evergreen forests from moving in, thus protecting the camas bulbs and other prairie plants important to local tribes.

Although Garry oak habitat ranges from southern British Columbia to northern California, by 2013 it had been reduced by nearly 90 percent. Development, in addition to invading Douglas fir and other native and non-native plants, continue to threaten the oaks’ future.

Many plant and wildlife species that rely on native oaks have become so rare that Washington State has declared Garry oak woodlands to be Priority Habitat.

 

The CHIP-in! program is designed so citizens can take an active role in helping to maintain and revitalize local parks and natural areas.

Metro Parks Tacoma manages over 2,696 acres of parks and green space, historic landmarks, community centers, beautiful gardens and special attractions that give us all a chance to get out and play more.

We’re asking you to “chip in” by investing your time and talents to help us improve parks and green spaces, protect neighborhood buildings and promote a healthy environment while helping to build a stronger community.

Agency partners are specific partnerships developed with agencies in the greater Tacoma area to work together to keep people of all ages involved in opportunities to learn, grow, protect, enhance, and give back to their communities.

Metro Parks Tacoma provides opportunities to work with our maintenance staff to learn new job skills, to receive special training on how to protect your neighborhoods and parks, to participate in habitat restoration, and to teach youth positive leadership qualities.

 

Become an agency partner In a growing effort to provide even more opportunities for people to get involved in their community, CHIP-in! is looking for additional agency partners.

To find out how your agency can get involved, contact [email protected].

Current Partners

  • Boy Scouts of America Metro Parks provides volunteer opportunities for Boy (Cub) and Girl (Brownie) Scout Troops to complete their community service and rank advancement requirements. In addition, we work with Eagle Scouts who are trying to achieve their Eagle Scout rank by providing projects that meet such requirements.For information about the Boy or Girl Scouts of America, please visit www.pacificharbors.org or, www.gsppc.org/
  • Green Tacoma Partnership The Green Tacoma Partnership is a public-private partnership between the City of Tacoma, Metro Parks, Tahoma Audubon Society, Cascade Land Conservancy, citizens, educational organizations, neighborhood groups, non-profits, faith-based organizations, and businesses all working together to sustain a viable healthy network of natural spaces throughout Tacoma.  Visit their website.
  • REI REI is more than great gear. Through volunteerism, giving, responsible business practices and more, we connect people to the outdoors and help protect the natural places we love.  Visit their website.
  • Safe Streets Provides opportunities for community groups to join, or develop their own neighborhood, or park patrols. Cooperative partnership with Safe Streets, Tacoma Police Department, Tacoma Public Schools and Metro Parks Tacoma.For more information, please visit their website.
  • Tacoma Community House We partner with the Tacoma Community House to offer opportunities for their youth participants who want to explore higher education opportunities and prepare for future careers in horticulture and/or landscape management.For more information about Tacoma Community House, please visit their website.
  • Tacoma Goodwill, STEPS Program The STEPS program empowers youths to give back to their community while learning valuable on-the-job skills, and seeing how they can make a difference.Metro Parks earned the 2003 Goodwill Large Employer of the Year award for our participation in this program. For more information about the Tacoma Goodwill, please visit their website.“Having our youth involved in the CHIP-in! program gives them an opportunity to give back to their community, which generates ownership and pride. Given this opportunity to succeed, our youth identify themselves as leaders who can make a difference.” – STEPS Program Coordinator, Goodwill Industries
  • Tacoma School District, Community Service This program provides opportunities for Tacoma’s high school students to complete their culminating projects within the park system, as well as any other community outreach efforts by key clubs, booster clubs, etc.For more information about the Tacoma School District, please visit their website.
  • Tacoma School District, Diversified/Transitional Education This program is a cooperative effort between the Tacoma School District and Metro Parks to provide students an opportunity to discover professional and vocational interests through on the job training.Metro Parks becomes the learning environment with the instructors being professionals in the industry. Our greenhouse has been a key partner since the mid 1980s.