MAY 2025: 1 MILLION TREES & NATIVE PLANTS!

THE MAGIC OF ONE MILLION TREES

When Richard Seidman founded Friends of Trees in 1989, he never could have imagined that we’d reach the milestone of one million trees and native plants. We were honored to have him join us at our millionth tree planting and celebration last month, and he added a true sense of history to the proceedings.

“I’m just so grateful for everybody who has participated from the beginning and over the years, so intrepidly,” Richard said in his remarks to the crowd. “It’s just a joy. Who knew something like this would happen?”

At a party that felt very true to Friends of Trees, we were joined by 200 supporters, most of them devoted volunteers who helped us get here. Lewi Longmire played music from the back of one of our pickup trucks while folks sipped Level Beer’s new One Million Trees Pilsner and hung out among the trees in our lot. When it came time to celebrate and plant the millionth tree, there was a palpable feeling of accomplishment that everyone in attendance shared.

“How did we get here?” Yashar, our executive director asked the crowd. “Through the power of 75,000 volunteers. Our mission is to build community through tree planting, and the community part is so important. This is what makes the magic happen, and I’m feeling it today.”

The magic of trees is that planting them is just the beginning. They’ll grow and provide their benefits for decades. We’ll get to know them and care for them, just like we get to know and care for our community. At Friends of Trees, we’re hopeful that one million trees and native plants is just the beginning. Like the trees—and you—we’ll keep showing up.

ABOUT OUR MILLIONTH TREE

And the native plants that accompany it!

Planting our millionth tree is quite the milestone, so we wanted to make sure to be thoughtful about selecting a tree that would benefit the community, and just as important, be intentional with choosing a tree that could thrive in our parking lot next to such a busy street. We are facing a future of increasingly long hot summers, and more extreme storms, and there are a lot of unknowns about what trees will thrive in our western cities.

Our millionth tree, planted at our office on MLK Boulevard, is a silverleaf oak. This climate resilient oak will serve as a milestone of what we’ve accomplished and a vision for the future. Our staff selected it because it will hold up to harsh urban conditions, it will grow relatively quickly and provide shade to a bus stop, and as an evergreen oak, it will help with air quality year-round.

Last week, we added to our total of one million trees and native plants by adding native companion plants to our millionth tree planting site. Our stellar Green Space team selected red flowering currant, sea thrift, penstemon, and creeping Oregon grape, all drought-tolerant species that can handle the harsh conditions on MLK Boulevard.

We include native plants in our count because a healthy urban forest is not complete without natural areas filled with native plants. These green spaces provide habitat to wildlife, clean our water, and provide opportunities for people to connect with nature.

Learn more here!

A Partner Since Tree #1

We were joined at our Millionth Tree celebration by folks from Portland General Electric, our Millionth Tree Presenting Partner. In his remarks, Friends of Trees founder Richard Seidman shouted out PGE for being a partner on our very first tree, planted at Boise-Eliot Elementary School in 1989.

“PGE was at our very first planting,” says Friends of Trees Executive Director Yashar Vasef. “We’ve done so many things with them over the years, like hosting Project Zero interns and modernizing our fleet with electric vehicles through the PGE Drive Change fund. We’re very grateful for all their support.”

Before helping plant the Millionth Tree itself, PGE CEO Maria Pope thanked the volunteers and crew leaders who planted alongside PGE employees at Saturday events over the past 36 years.

“This achievement is the result of decades of partnership, thousands of volunteers and a shared belief in the power of community to shape a healthier, more resilient future,” said Pope. “Thank you to Friends of Trees for more than 30 years of leadership—and to every volunteer who helped get us here.”

Read more about the partnership here

THIS BEER PLANTS TREES

Level Beer’s One Million Trees Pilsner is available now!

We partnered with our friends at Level Beer to celebrate our millionth tree milestone with a crisp Pilsner that pairs perfectly with planting trees, sitting under trees, looking at trees, thinking about trees…it’s the One Million Trees Pilsner!

Thanks to Level for their support of trees + community with this collaboration! Swing by any Level location to grab yourself a 4-pack, and keep an eye out in stores near you. Don’t forget, you can tour The Taproot Arboretum at Level’s Northeast location!

Thanks to our Millionth Tree Presenting Partner, Portland General Electric!

Thanks to all of our Millionth Tree Partners for their support!

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The #FriendsofTreesWay is planting trees—and so much more!

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