by Chelsea Schuyler

Like to plant? Like to bike? Plant by bike!!

According to the League of American Cyclists, Portland is one of the top five most bike-friendly cities in the nation. You can tell by our bike lanes, our “green boxes,” and the cyclist traffic jam on Hawthorne Bridge at rush hour. Going to work, getting groceries, even moving can be done by bike in this town. And at Friends of Trees, so can planting trees.

This winter we’re offering four chances to plant by bike. For bicycling crews, all the tools, all the trees, all the people will be transported by bicycle. Can you imagine a greener activity?

Saturday, December 4, is the first scheduled Neighborhood Trees planting that includes bicycling crews, and it’s in the Buckman-HAND-Richmond neighborhoods. But three more Saturdays will follow:

1-22-11 Laurelhurst-Kerns-Sunnyside-North Tabor
2-5-11 Piedmont-Woodlawn
3-5-11 Montavilla-Mount Tabor

Want to join the fun? Sign up here! Please fill out this short form so we have an idea of how many cyclists we can expect and how much each cyclist can carry. Whether your bike is equipped to handle trees (trailer), a few tools (crate or basket), or you just have a handlebar with wheels, we want you there! Meet at 8:45 a.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church at 3800 SE Brooklyn Street. The usual free coffee and donuts will be waiting for you.

By planting trees by bike, we actually create a negative carbon footprint. I’ll be biking right alongside, helping out and taking pictures, so stay tuned. You might see yourself on this very blog, Growth Rings, afterward! To see a video of last year’s plant-by-bike planting, click here.

You can see this event on the calendar for Shift, a Portland web site for bike enthusiasts that encourages “bikey fun.” Meet your neighbors, get some outside exercise, and beautify Portland all at the same time.  See you there!

–Chelsea Schuyler is a contributing blogger for Friends of Trees

Filed under: FOT Events, Neighborhood Trees, Plant It Portland

Tags: bike, planting, volunteer