You can see Plant It Portland signs in yards across Portland as people sign up for bargain trees.

Did you read this story, “Tree Planters Tout Shade and Beauty,” in Saturday’s Oregonian?

Friends of Trees has launched a media campaign featuring whimsical posters and door hangers with a “Where’s Waldo?” aspect to them—the more you look, the more you see.

“The old signs were a little wonky,” said program director Brighton West, explaining the switch.

According to West, while the signs listed the benefits of planting more neighborhood trees, such as carbon sequestration and stormwater capture, they didn’t reflect what Portlanders really love about them.

“When we did a survey to find out why people planted trees, most of them said for shade and beauty,” West said. “You can’t disagree that those are good things, so we decided to go with a ‘beautiful’ campaign.”

Local marketing firm Frank Creative, which came up with the the graphics, creates ads for companies such as Teva and Spyder. The company felt unususually qualified because the active, outdoorsy people who buy those products are the same kind who plant trees.

Friends of Trees planted 2,500 trees in Portland last winter, West said. Their goal this year is 4,500. Homeowners pay an average of $45 a tree, and neighbors pitch in to get them in the ground.

To find out if a tree planting is planned in your community, contact Friends of Trees at 503-282-8846 or visit FriendsofTrees.org.

–Anne Laufe

Dozens of new Neighborhood Coordinators attended Friends of Trees' July trainings. (FOT file)

By Kate Farrington

Last week Friends of Trees held three separate Neighborhood Coordinator trainings. Sunday’s was for new Neighborhood Coordinators, Tuesday’s was for Vancouver coordinators, and Thursday’s was for Portland coordinators. All three events were well attended.

Participants heard from Friends of Trees staff, Vancouver Urban Forestry, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, and veteran Neighborhood Coordinators. The presentations explained the coordinators’ roles and the importance of a healthy urban forest.

Participants also enjoyed delicious donated pastries and bagels on Saturday and pizzas on Tuesday and Thursday.

At the trainings, Neighborhood Coordinators met for the first time with other volunteers who will assist them. The groups discussed outreach ideas and planting goals. It was great to see everyone working together and to watch Neighborhood Coordinators gear up for the upcoming planting season.

Thank you to all of our amazing Neighborhood Coordinators!

–Farrington is Neighborhood Outreach Coordinator for Friends of Trees.

Thirty-eight trees will add shade this summer around the PGE-Pacific Power joint substation at SE 8th Ave. and Harrison St.

On May 26, Friends of Trees joined PGE, Pacific Power, Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services and Verde to plant Rocky Mountain Glow Maples, Hawthorns, Prairiefire Crabapples, and Flowering Pears as part of the city’s Grey to Green Initiative.

Pictured in the slide show below are the planting team from Verde and (from left to right) Debbie Castleton of BES, Larry McDowell of PGE, Sheila Holden of Pacific Power, and Brighton West of Friends of Trees.

–Teri Ruch

From left, Dean Marriott and Mike Rosen from the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), Nancy Buley of Schmidt Nursery, Senator Ron Wyden, and Friends of Trees Executive Director Scott Fogarty last week in Washington D.C. (Nancy Buley)

Senator Ron Wyden introduced the small business tree-planting bill to the Senate today, one week after Friends of Trees Executive Director Scott Fogarty and countless other green infrastructure proponents lobbied in Washington D.C.

Fogarty, in D.C. for the Alliance for Community Trees’ (ACT) 2010 Green Infrastructure Summit, joined Friends of Trees Board Member Nancy Buley in convincing the entire Oregon elected delegation to support Congressman Kurt Schrader’s Small Business Environmental Stewardship Assistance Act (H.R. 4509).

“Our primary goal was to get all Oregon delegates on board for the re-authorization of the SBA—we succeeded in that,” said Fogarty. “And the second goal was to keep the issue of green infrastructure fresh in the mind of our delegates—and we accomplished that as well.”

Wyden (D-Ore.) is joined by Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) on the legislation.

“Renewal of the Small Business Tree Planting Program will bring jobs to hard-hit areas while taking some of the financial heat off of municipalities and small businesses looking for ways to green and beautify their retail and commercial areas,” said Wyden to the American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA).

On the Oregon congressional side, Greg Walden (R-Ore.) joined his democratic delegates from Oregon at the last moment, making a clean sweep of support for Oregon’s tree industries.

“Congressman Walden is voting for Oregon—he’s not voting for the party—and I think that’s  a very good sign,” said Fogarty. “Clearly our congressmen and senators get it.”

“Among the many things Oregonians do well is growing things, and trees are at the top of that list,” said Wyden to the Oregon Association of Nurseries. “There can be no better time than now to renew the Small Business Tree Planting Program because it will protect jobs in Oregon’s valuable nursery sector.”

Freshman Congressman Schrader (D-Ore.) commented to the ANLA that based on the bill’s initial success from 1991-94, now is the perfect time for this kind of job stimulus investment.

“We don’t want to leave our natural resource economy behind,” said Schrader. “It’s all fine to talk about high tech and the stuff in the cities, but here we can marry up our rural and urban counterparts.”

According to the ANLA, the first installment of this tree-planting bill included more than 18,000 participating businesses with fewer than 100 employees, using a total federal investment of $1,716,140 to stimulate $3,646,033 of total economic impact.

“It’s economic, it’s an economic thing and it’s an economic argument,” said Fogarty, who was quick to mention all who took part in last week’s efforts, including Buley from J. Frank Schmidt & Son nursery, Dean Marriott and Mike Rosen from Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, Jared Liu from ACT, and Brian Krieg, chair of Portland’s Urban Forestry Commission.

Due to the current political climate, Fogarty and Schrader are both optimistic and pragmatic on their chances for passing H.R. 4509.

“I hope members back home in their districts can start talking about the bill a little bit,” said Schrader. “I think we have a good shot at this … it’s a great idea.”

“Success to me is putting the issue on the plate–acknowledging the issue–and at least beginning the discussion, not just for trees but for green infrastructure in general,” said Fogarty.

From left, Mike Rosen, Nancy Buley, Scott Fogarty and Congressman Schrader. (Nancy Buley)

Scott Fogarty speaks at the ACT Summit last week in D.C. (Nancy Buley)

–Toshio Suzuki

An excerpt from the piece:

Friends of Trees partnered with Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services and J. Frank Schmidt & Son. Co. to plant nearly 200 street trees on March 6, 2010.

By recognizing trees as capital assets, the I-205 project secured funding through a Nature in Neighborhoods capital grant from Metro’s 2006 voter-approved natural areas bond measure. The result: Thousands of native trees and shrubs will serve the neighborhoods and cities along the path—and the entire region–for years to come. And if ODOT Region 1 succeeds in inspiring other ODOT regions to fund greening of transportation corridors, Oregon may become a model for other states.

Greening our cities and transportation corridors encourages active, healthy lifestyles, protects our drinking water and cleans our air — reducing pollutants that exacerbate asthma and other respiratory diseases.

It also secures jobs in Oregon’s number two agricultural industry, the nursery industry. That’s one reason Boring-based tree grower J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. has joined a budding list of local businesses supporting the I-205 greening project. Planting more trees in the “nursery state” provides jobs for arborists, city workers and others who maintain the trees’ health.

The piece concludes:

Considering trees as assets is a capital idea. It’s good for Oregon and our citizens. It’s time our state, known for its forestry industry as well as its green innovations, shows that its trees are appreciated.

Read the complete story here.

–Teri Ruch

As the planting season slows, summer events like Tree Care begin. (FOT file)

The largest, most anticipated planting season in two decades is about to end for Friends of Trees, and the results are staggering.

A quick look at the not-so-rough numbers from the 2009-10 season:

• 16,764* trees and shrubs planted
• 4,526* large trees injected into the local canopy
• Over a dozen natural area restoration sites established
• Thousands of volunteer hours, from digging holes to preparing chili
• Plantings spread across rivers and counties, in various cities and dozens of neighborhoods

Overall, these numbers equate to 391,764* trees and shrubs planted by Friends of Trees over the past 20 years.

Not so bad for a small, grass roots nonprofit that plants via neighborhood and community involvement.

Some video highlights from this season: the Green Space Initiative (GSI) program began its three-year project along the I-205 Multi-Use Path, and people are excited; the popular Plant by Bike events offered by the Neighborhood Trees (NT) program continued to flourish; the NT partnership with the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) made its largest Saturday splash with 300 street and yard trees planted in one day; and just last week, the popular Gift Trees program had its second special planting event in Collins Sanctuary.

The opportunities to contribute to the urban forest continue during the spring and summer with Tree Care events. Check back soon for updates, and sign-up now to be the first to get information for the 2010-11 NT planting schedule.

*These numbers are expected to climb slightly due to end-of-year special plantings and other ongoing projects.

–Toshio Suzuki

Members of last season's urban canopy outreach team, clockwise from top-left: Tom Cogswell; Elizabeth Wren Shiffler; Gehron Burkholder; and Dimitra Giannakoulias. (FOT file)

The city of Portland is looking for up to 10 new employees to work on increasing the area’s tree canopy on behalf of the Grey to Green (G2G) Initiative.

As a G2G partner with the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), Friends of Trees works closely with these city staffers to get the right street and yard trees planted in the right spot.

The part-time positions average between 25-30 hours a week, and pay $14.98 an hour.

Read a complete description of qualifications and how to apply below:

We are developing innovative ways to grow and document Portland’s urban forest and to educate citizens about the importance of planting trees.  Outreach staff are the public face of our effort, providing extensive face-to-face and telephone contact with residents as we offer them new tree-planting opportunities.

Ideal candidates will be personable, creative and adaptable, comfortable with door-to-door canvassing, community outreach and education, and enthusiastic about planting trees as a means of improving Portland’s environment.  This announcement will be used to fill up to 10 part-time, summer positions.

Required Qualifications:

• Excellent people skills, a positive attitude, and self-motivation
• Previous experience in canvassing, customer service, or other outreach work
• Experience representing a governmental or other organization to the public
• Strong awareness of and commitment to environmental restoration
• Willingness and ability to work full shifts on foot, in the field, in varying weather conditions
• Ability to work successfully with others in a team environment
• Applicants must be able to provide their own transportation to and from field work in neighborhoods across North, Northeast, and Southeast Portland.
• Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and have a valid driver’s license accompanied by an acceptable driving record.

Desired Qualifications:

• Knowledge/experience of stormwater management and/or urban forestry issues
• Previous experience with detailed data entry, database software, and GIS software
• Ability to speak a language other than English

Duties will include, but may not be limited to:

• Contacting property owners, primarily door-to-door as well as over the telephone, to provide information and promote participation in tree planting initiatives
• Recording and maintaining accurate field data of potential tree planting locations
• Entering field data into GIS software
• Supporting community outreach programs, including tabling at events
• Attending staff meetings and training sessions

Work will begin in early June and will continue through early September, with a possibility of a few outreach staff staying on until the end of the year.  The work schedule will generally be Tuesdays to Saturdays, mid-afternoons to early evenings, with occasional Sunday shifts, for an average of 25-30 hours per week. Approximately 75% of this time will be spent in the field, with the remainder consisting of office work and tabling at outreach events.  Pay is $14.98 per hour with no additional benefits for these seasonal, part-time positions.

Please apply with a brief, relevant resume and cover letter by e-mail or US Mail to the address below.  Please limit your combined resume/cover letter submissions to a total of three typed pages.   All materials must be received by 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 21.  Interviews will be held during the second full week of May.  We look forward to your application.  Please submit materials to:

Kenneth Carter, Sr. HR Analyst
Portland Bureau of Human Resources
1120 SW 5th Avenue – Room 404
Portland, Oregon 97204
Phone: 503-823-4217
Kenneth.Carter@portlandoregon.gov

Contact Matt Krueger (503-823-2978) or Jennifer Karps (503-823-2263) with questions. The City of Portland is an equal opportunity employer.

A TV camera stationed in front of tree canopy maps at the March 23 Citywide Tree Project joint meeting. (FOT file)

An overwhelming majority of testimony Tuesday night supported moving the Citywide Tree Project (CTP) forward to a vote by the Portland City Council.

About two dozen speakers—neighborhood association leaders, research scientists, concerned citizens, home builders and nonprofit leaders—testified in front of the Urban Forestry Commission and Planning Commission.

An analysis of all the public testimony, written and oral, shows that 33 submissions were in support, one was a no-vote, and three were against.

“Clearly, most speakers were interested in a system that promotes preservation of existing canopy, especially large trees,” said CTP Project Manager Roberta Jortner.

Bob Sallinger, conservation director for the Audubon Society of Portland, echoed a common sentiment among tree stewards that the biggest and most important challenge for the city is to preserve and protect the exiting trees in the ground.

“This is a wise and prudent investment,” said Sallinger, who also spoke on behalf of the Coalition for a Livable Future and the Urban Greenspaces Institute. “We’re simply not taking care of our trees to the extent that we should.”

Calling the benefits from trees “leaky,” U.S. forestry scientist Geoffrey Donovan used a banana to symbolize something—unlike a tree—that only benefits one person.

“If I was to plant a tree, she would benefit,” said Donovan, gesturing to a colleague sitting next to him, “Indeed, it would be hard to exclude her from those benefits.”

Issues like the protection of snags as important bird habitat, arborist training on new policy and enforcement of code were reiterated throughout the proceeding.

Of the two who spoke in obvious opposition, both represented home development and mentioned Portland’s urban growth boundary as a factor in tree conservation.

“This tree policy still creates a lot of problems for the housing industry,” said Jeffrey Fish, a local builder who took part in CTP stakeholder meetings. “We need to sit down and model this.”

Representing the Oregon Home Builders Association, Tom Skaar called the CTP “a work in progress” and the 26-33 percent canopy goal of the city “somewhat arbitrary.”

“A lot of the impetus behind this is not only tree preservation but infill development,” said Skaar. “We believe our region has done a good job at tree canopy protection already.”

Jortner and the other managers from the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability are aware of the issues, as they have come up during the 30-month process.

“The question is how best to improve tree preservation and tree canopy in Portland, while also meeting city goals for development and infill to maintain a compact urban form,” said Jortner.

Public municipalities weighed in on the CTP, too.

The water bureau and the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) supported the measure while the Bureau of Development Services came out against.

All bureaus provided countless written suggestions for refinement. One of particular note came from the water bureau, suggesting a minimum size tree that apply to the city code.

Despite the lingering economic climate and strained city budgets, Jortner said she is hopeful to bring a revised proposal to the city council by summer.

For Ginger Edwards of the Arbor Lodge Neighborhood who shared her testimony, soon is likely a relative term.

Edwards lost a 38-inch diameter oak tree because it resided on a property line, leaving her helpless to intervene with the neighbor, the city or the developer.

“The tree is gone,” said Edwards. “This tree policy could have helped save that tree.”

–Toshio Suzuki

Calling trees just as important as big sewer pipes, Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman helped Friends of Trees kick off its largest Neighborhood Trees planting of the season Saturday.

Thanks to more than 200 volunteers who participated in the first-day-of-spring planting, 300 large street and yard trees were planted in the neighborhoods of Cully, Madison South, Rose City Park and Roseway—an over 100 percent increase from the number planted last year.

“It’s important to have trees that capture storm water and keep it from getting in our sewer system—to beautify neighborhoods, enhance property values, and to provide cooling in the summer time,” said Saltzman, who oversees the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), a Friends of Trees project partner via the Grey to Green (G2G) Initiative. “Planting over 300 trees is a remarkable accomplishment.”

Included in the volunteers figure were about a dozen employees from the Port of Portland, the sponsor of the community planting.

The Port of Portland has provided financial sponsorship to Friends of Trees for several years, but this year the employees were excited to enhance the partnership by planting in the neighborhoods, said Director of Aviation Steve Schreiber.

“We decided we need to dig in and kind of get our hands dirty,” said Schreiber, who also mentioned he grew up in the neighborhood, and that his father and grandfather actually helped build the church that staged the Northeast Portland planting.

While such a dramatic increase in trees planted requires a lot of preparation for things like trucks and tools, volunteer neighborhood coordinators like Jillian Miller faced the logistical challenge of feeding all those volunteers breakfast and lunch.

“We needed to ramp it up this year,” said Jillian Miller, who volunteered for the second year as a neighborhood coordinator.

All around, Friends of Trees is seriously ‘ramping’ up its numbers. Prior to this record breaking planting, the 20-year-old Northeast Portland nonprofit already planted 13,587 trees and shrubs in the metropolitan area this season alone.

With a few Saturday plantings remaining through April 10, this guarantees the figure will be well over 15,000 for the year, and close to 400,000 trees and shrubs planted in two decades.

“Friends of Trees is a great organization—they’ve proven they can organize—getting people out today,” said Saltzman.

“The city of Portland, particularly the Bureau of Environmental Services, is really pleased to be able to have a partnership with Friends of Trees to meet some ambitious objectives the city wants to see—which is more trees planted in the city because they’re part of our infrastructure.”

A group of coworkers from GBD Architects pose for their 'victory shot.' (Craig Norman)

To view more images from the planting, visit the Friends of Trees Flickr page.

–Toshio Suzuki

Young planters take a break Saturday on the slope where trees were planted along the I-205 Multi-Use Path. (FOT file)

By Teri Ruch

Volunteers at the March 20 Friends of Trees planting along the I-205 corridor in Southeast Portland ranged from toddlers to retirees. They came from diverse backgrounds and groups, including nonprofits, regional and statewide agencies, nearby neighborhoods, high schools, and local businesses.

But all agreed on two things: Planting trees is good; and planting trees on a sunny first day of spring is even better.

“The variety of people and organizations involved is tremendous,” said Metro Council President David Bragdon as he paused next to a tree that he was about to haul up the slope to plant. Surveying the bustling volunteers from Friends of Trees, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), East Portland Action Plan (EPAP) and elsewhere, he said, “When you put all those efforts together, you get a great result.”

Metro Council President David Bragdon, center with hat, spoke at Saturday's I-205 planting and stuck around to help. (FOT file)

The March 20 Green Space Initiative planting was part of a three-year project to green the 16.5-mile I-205 Multi-Use Path, which is funded by a $410,000 grant from Metro’s 2006 voter-approved Natural Areas bond measure. “What we look for is partnerships,” said Bragdon, “and projects that create lots of volunteer engagement and community ownership.”

The I-205 greening project, which involves a partnership between Friends of Trees and ODOT, is also funded by an $80,000 grant from the East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District (EMSWCD) and by Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) and local businesses, including Cantel Sweeping and Collier Arbor Care who sponsored the day’s event.

In addition to the diversity in volunteers and project partners, the benefits of the project are many and wide ranging. Planting trees along a path that crosses some of Portland’s most diverse neighborhoods and is used by pedestrians, bicyclers and transit users will encourage more people to use the path.

And given the path’s location next to a well-traveled freeway, Cantel Sweeping owner Michael Wagoner’s reason for planting was especially fitting. His company’s vehicles emit exhaust, and planting trees helps offset those emissions.

“Trees are also terrific stormwater management tools,” said EMSWCD Executive Director Jean Fike, referring to trees’ role in reducing stormwater runoff. “Planting trees helps keep our rivers, streams and watersheds healthy.”

Terrill Collier of Collier Arbor Care said the March 20 planting was especially meaningful to him because he grew up in the neighborhood. “So this is coming back to my roots and planting trees.”

“It’s building communities,” said EPAP member Vadim Riskin, equity coordinator for Portland Public Schools. “You meet people when you plant together, and you teach and learn from one another.”

Other planters on March 20 included ten high school students from Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center (Portland OIC), a local nonprofit that assists minority and under-served youth. The students’ jobs guiding planters along the I-205 path were created through a partnership among Portland OIC, Portland Development Commission, and Worksystems, Inc.

“I like the fresh air and the freedom,” said Portland OIC’s Pablo Juan Tomas. “I like making changes in the community, too.”

(FOT file)

(FOT file)

(FOT file)

(FOT file)

–Ruch is the communications director for Friends of Trees: terir@FriendsofTrees.org; 503-282-8846 ext. 17

Urban Forestry Commission Chairman Brian Krieg presented last week to the Portland City Council. (FOT file)

On Wednesday the Portland City Council received a presentation from the Urban Forestry Commission, unanimously approving their 2009 Annual Report.

Urban Forestry Commission Chairman Brian Krieg, and fellow commissioners Joe Poracsky and David Odom of Friends of Trees, presented to the council on the value of Portland’s urban forest and the upcoming deliberations regarding the Citywide Tree Project (CTP).

Some excerpts from the city council and the urban forestry commissioners:

“It’s interesting that San Antonio has many more trees per square foot than we do,” said Mayor Sam Adams. “As good as we are—especially for Pacific Northwest cities—we got room to improve.”

“I do encourage folks to get involved in the Friends of Trees planting,” said Commissioner Amanda Fritz. “It’s good exercise, it’s fresh air and it’s community building.”

Commissioner Dan Saltzman, left, with Friends of Trees Executive Director Scott Fogarty, center, and David Odom at a neighborhood planting March 6. (FOT file)

“I’m really proud of the Bureau of Environmental Services’ support for the Friends of Trees program,” said Commissioner Dan Saltzman. “It’s very effective and I think it’s a recognition that trees are indeed a capital resource and should be considered as such.”

“Trees are one of the key things that define this city and its livability,” said Krieg.

“In the period of 1972 to 2002, Portland’s urban forest canopy increased by 1.2 percent,” said Poracsky, attributing the spike in the second half of the graph to “the time frame Friends of Trees has been operating in the city of Portland.”

On the CTP:

Commissioner Nick Fish described the project as “The city’s effort to rationalize the management of Portland’s urban tree canopy.”

“Currently, public and private rules and ordinances are, to put it politely, a bureaucratic pastiche,” added Fish, who oversees Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) and its urban forestry division.

“I also want to say that the Citywide Tree policy is my top priority for this year—not only getting a good policy in place that does justice both to homeowners and to trees, but to make sure that we have enforcement of our regulations and rules about cutting down trees, and all too often we’ve had abuses of that,” said Saltzman.

“So I’m particularly looking for a more seamless enforcement of our tree policies.”

Saltzman reiterated again: “Making sure we have adequate funding to make this tree policy work is my top priority for this coming year.”

“This once in every 25-years type of effort will have an immense impact on how we manage our urban forest in the future,” said Krieg. “If nothing else, this entire process shows how integral trees are throughout the fabric of our city.”

Brian Krieg on urban forestry funding and the capitalization of trees:

“We are deeply concerned about potential cuts to urban forestry.”

“Trees are living things and do need our care; however, the expense of maintaining and expanding our urban forest pales in comparison to the substantial benefits it gives us.”

Speaking to the council, Krieg implored, “Each of you oversees at least one bureau or office that has a key role in the management of the urban forest. We encourage your consideration of the urban forest as a whole when making your budget decisions this year.”

“There’s a growing recognition that our green infrastructure can be just as important as our grey infrastructure.

“The commission believes that a shift to recognizing trees as capital assets, recognizing their full value as part of the city’s infrastructure is crucial to maintaining and enhancing the urban forest, in keeping with many of the city’s goals.”

The entire city council session can be seen online, with the urban forestry section beginning around the 45-minute mark.

–Toshio Suzuki

Preserving street trees, like the ones on Northeast Knott, is only one component of the Citywide Tree Project. (The Oregonian)

A room of area residents representing various city bureaus, environmental conservation efforts, development efforts, neighborhood associations and professional arborists met last week to further discuss Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability’s (BPS) Citywide Tree Project (CTP).

Although many in the group seem unable to recollect the beginning of their ’stakeholder sessions,’ most easily admit the process has taken over a year.

With hundreds of pages written and all of the content available online, project manager Roberta Jortner said the project is past the development stage, and getting through the vetting process, entering the legislative arena.

The goal of the CTP is to distribute the equity of the urban forest to the city, said Jortner.

“Trees in the city are really a multi-billion dollar asset,” she said.

As the group shuffled through the 54 slides, they discussed and argued several specific elements for the entire project, which now has an estimated price tag between $800,000 and $2 million.

Funding for the CTP is a large issue, as many members of the group speculated that the city agencies involved (Portland Parks & Recreation, Bureau of Environmental Services) do not agree on where the money should come from, or even if funding is feasible.

Some hot points deliberated:

• fixing the complex regulation of trees in the city, ideally housing all tree code for multiple bureaus within one document
• how ‘priority’ trees can be removed on development sites, and payment plans for remittance
• assessing tree density goals for development procedures and tree replacement protocol
• programmatic permits
• peer review for Portland Urban Forestry reports

The next opportunity for public discourse on these topics and many others is tomorrow, 7-9 p.m., at the Multnomah Arts Center. The next open house after that is March 16, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at the Floyd Light Middle School.

–Toshio Suzuki

Tree, stakes, mulch, tools and even his son Rhys fit into Richard Greensted's bike cart Saturday at the Neighborhood Trees planting. (Renee Garrels)

By Teri Ruch

Mix about 20 bicycles, a dozen carts and trailers, 190 big trees, planting tools, the perfect pre-spring morning and 75 volunteers—from babies to boomers—and what do you get?

A fun planting day that ended with a community potluck and new trees to clean our rivers, add shade to neighborhoods, and make our air healthier. Forty of the 190 trees planted Saturday, many weighing 200 pounds each, were carried by bicycle along with tools, stakes and mulch.

“It shows that Portland is a great city when people roll up their sleeves to plant trees together,” City Commissioner Dan Saltzman told Friends of Trees volunteers before they set out in teams to plant. “You are in the frontline of the effort to clean our rivers. We need trees to keep stormwater out of our sewer system.”

The Friends of Trees planting in the Montavilla and Mt. Tabor neighborhoods was part of two Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) efforts to curb stormwater runoff: the Tabor to the River project, with a goal to improve the Brooklyn Creek Basin from Mt. Tabor to the Willamette using sewer enhancements, green stormwater management and tree plantings; and the five-year Grey to Green Initiative (G2G), launched last year to green the city’s greyscape by adding more ecoroofs, bioswales, restored natural areas and trees.

As a partner in G2G, Friends of Trees is helping the city reach its goal of planting 83,000 street and yard trees in five years. Last year the nonprofit planted more street and yard trees than in any previous year of its 20-year history, and this year Friends of Trees hopes to double that number.

From left, Naomi Tsurumi of BES, Commissioner Saltzman, Nancy Buley of J. Frank Schmidt Nursery, and Friends of Trees Executive Director Scott Fogarty. (FOT file)

Friends of Trees’ model offers homeowners both quality trees at affordable prices and organized community plantings, which give people a vested interest in their trees and ensures that two things grow at the same time: the city’s tree cover and its corps of tree-planting citizens.

Friends of Trees Executive Director Scott Fogarty emphasized this point when he told the planting volunteers on March 6, “You’re making a statement today by planting trees for the greater good.”

Friends of Trees board member Nancy Buley, who directs marketing for J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co., which sponsored Saturday’s planting, encouraged the planters to “pick up a pen” as well as a shovel. She’s been advocating in D.C. for more funding for trees. “We need to get political about trees,” she said.

Some of the younger planters, however, seemed happy just to be outside planting.

“Rhys and I had an amazing day,” said Richard Greensted, who carried mulch, stakes, tools and his son Rhys by bicycle to the places where his bike team planted.

“Spending quality time with my son, getting some exercise, and helping keep our rivers clean—what a great way to spend a day,” he said. “Before I had a chance to ask Rhys what he thought about the tree planting, he was asking me about when the next planting was!”

–Ruch is the communications director for Friends of Trees: terir@FriendsofTrees.org; 503-282-8846 ext. 17

Street swales, like this one on Southeast Division, have been going in for several years all over Portland. (sierraclub.org)

It has been a few years now and Portland continues to develop its infrastructure of street swales and curb extensions.

The Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) developed and is implementing these runoff-collecting tools along Portland’s streets in an effort to keep the Willamette River cleaner.

Runoff collects in a swale in the Hollywood District. (The Oregonian)

Street swales and curb extensions are also the next generation of street tree planters, combining both the tree-planting and storm water initiatives of the city’s Grey to Green (G2G) initiative.

On Southeast Ankeny Street—the popular east-west bike avenue—BES is about to finish the Oak B Sewer Project, which saw Queen Elizabeth Hedge Maples, American Hornbeams and Black Tupelos planted in the next generation planters.

The bureau works off of an approved tree list when planting in swales or extensions, but everything’s on a trial basis, said Jeremy Person of BES who worked on the sewer project.

“We’ve been doing sewer pipes for 100 years now,” said Person, “We’ve been doing swales—big time—for maybe two, three years now.”

What types of trees do you think would be best for Portland urban street swales or curb extensions?

–Toshio Suzuki

–Whitney Dorer & Toshio Suzuki