Leadership Roles
Be a Leader
Join Friends of Trees' valued team of volunteer leaders and inspire other tree planters as you transform a green space or neighborhood.
Summer Inspectors
UPDATE: The June 2nd training is now FULL. If you're interested in this role, please save your space at our June 9th training clicking HERE!
Summer inspectors are always one of our most popular volunteers roles. Why? These trained volunteers learn how to assess the health of newly planted street and yard trees and give homeowners watering and mulching tips. Each inspector checks on his or her assigned trees twice during the summer (once by the end of June and once by the end of August).
Being a summer inspector gives you a chance to meet your neighbors and to help them take care of their trees during the critical first summer after planting. Plus, you get to stroll around Portland's beautiful neighborhoods in the summer sun at your own leisure. Not a bad way to do good work.
Our trainings this year will be held on Saturday, June 2 (now FULL) and Saturday, June 9 (SE Portland) from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Attendance at one of these trainings is mandatory. We'll provide coffee, breakfast treats, pizza and a Tree Team t-shirt!
Please CLICK HERE to pre-register! This is a very popular role and spaces will be limited.
For more about this role, please read this blog post.
Neighborhood Coordinators
Neighborhood coordinators work with Friends of Trees staff to organize tree plantings in their neighborhoods. Once a neighborhood has a coordinator, Friends of Trees can schedule a planting there, and residents can order bargain trees to plant in their yards and planting strips.
Neighborhood Coordinators attend a summer training to learn ways to encourage their neighbors to buy trees, provide tips for organizing their neighborhood’s annual planting, and give guidance in how to use Friends of Trees’ online tree ordering system. By becoming a neighborhood coordinator, you ensure that your neighbors will be able to purchase low-cost, high-quality trees for their yards and planting strips.
If you would like to have a planting in your neighborhood, please consider being a neighborhood coordinator!
Crew Leaders
Crew leaders are one of our most important volunteer roles as they help teach our volunteers how to plant trees and work together as a team.
Crew leaders attend a training to learn how to plant trees and how to guide volunteers at planting events. During our planting season, each crew leader commits to guiding small groups of planters at four Saturday morning plantings. Each crew leader receives the coveted Tree Team t-shirt and is invited to attend Friends of Trees leadership celebrations.
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The Neighborhood Trees program plants large street and yard trees with homeowners and planting volunteers in eastside Portland neighborhoods, as well as in Vancouver and Beaverton.
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The Green Space Initiative plants small native trees and shrubs in natural areas and green spaces, as well as along the I-205 Multi-Use Path, with planting volunteers to restore native habitat and improve watershed health.
Check out some of the best reasons to become a Crew Leader:
- Great way to meet people
- Plant trees with your bike
- Beautify Portland's neighborhoods & green spaces
- Promote environmental & health benefits of trees
- Build a stronger community
For more information about any of our volunteer leadership positions, please email Andy Meeks or Jenny Bedell-Stiles in the Volunteer & Outreach Program. You can also reach us at 503-595-0213. We look forward to working with you!