First-time planter helps green I-205 path

By Kimberly Dinwiddie

Beaming with enthusiasm, 18-year-old Lavette Lacy of Northeast Portland happily spent a sunny Saturday morning along the Interstate 205 Multi-Use-Path near Airport Way planting trees and shrubs.

Lacy has not planted many trees in her life; in fact, the first tree Lacy planted was along the path in December.

Lacy is a student at Rosemary Anderson High School, a program of Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center (Portland OIC)—an organization dedicated to helping at-risk youth engage in school and training.

Portland OIC recently joined in a unique partnership with Friends of Trees, ODOT and Metro to green the I-205 Multi-Use Path with thousands of trees and shrubs over a three-year period.

Through Portland OIC, Lacy is studying natural resources, including streams and fish.

As part of the project, Portland OIC and other organizations—including Verde, Portland Development Commission, and Worksystems, Inc.—have created 16 green jobs and are expanding environmental education to under-served and minority communities.

When Lacy isn’t planting trees or studying natural resources she likes spending time with friends, reading, and writing. Lacy is currently writing a book. “It’s a work in progress,” she said.

Lacy believes it is important to take care of herself by eating organic foods. She also has the desire to take care of others. Lacy explained that she would like to become a doctor or a surgeon; she wouldn’t mind firefighting either. However, Lacy said her dream job would be to travel the world—spending time in Tokyo, Ethiopia or Asia—eating good food and seeing how people in other countries live.

In the meantime, Lacy is happy to plant trees along the I-205 Multi-Use-Path. “People are learning how to plant trees as they socially network with one another. You get to learn something new and see the work that you have done,” she commented.

Lacy will be at future tree plantings along the I-205 Multi-Use-Path and plans to bring her one-year-old niece to an upcoming planting. Lacy wants to start instilling the importance and rewards of volunteering to her niece at a young age.

The final Friends of Trees planting along the I-205 Multi-Use Path for this season is Saturday, April 3.

More information on the I-205 project is available, including this PGE video, this Friends of Trees video, and a comprehensive brochure.

–Dinwiddie works for the Oregon Department of Transporation