APRIL 2026: EARTH MONTH | SPRING SPLENDOR | NEW MERCH STORE!
LITTLE MOMENTS FOR A BIG PLANET
What Earth Month means for Yashar, our Executive Director
Something I see and hear at every Saturday planting event is a reverence for trees and nature.It’s something I can relate to from growing up in Iran, where many holidays include getting into nature. One of our biggest holidays in Persian culture is Sizdeh Bedar, which is basically translated as Our Nature Day. The idea is to spend the day in parks, picnicking with friends, family and community.
I am finding myself once more seeking opportunities to connect with nature and to spend time with trees, to try to escape from the heaviness of it all. I suspect that decompressing through nature is a universally relatable experience. Being part of a recent Friends of Trees event in Vancouver, and joining a planting crew, I could take a break from current events and just feel good about doing good through planting trees.
In April, we celebrate Earth Day, Arbor Day, and Sizdeh Bedar. Every year, I ask myself what it means to celebrate these holidays, which we bundle up into what we call Earth Month. (Check out all we’ve been up to!)
The planet is so huge, and it’s something we all share, but I find my favorite moments that feel really good are the little ones. Volunteers from different generations recognizing each other from a past planting event. Children excited to fill mulch buckets at a stewardship event. Two neighbors connecting for the first time because they both received a new tree and joined the crew that planted them both. These little connections add up and make a planet-sized difference.
Thank you for whatever you do during Earth Month—and every month—to make a difference,
Communications intern Tony reflects on learning to prune with Friends of Trees
What I like about pruning is that when you spend time with trees, you develop a deepening of sensory experience that stays with you as you learn to recognize names and patterns in nature. It has a slowing down effect. And when looking at trees individually, you realize that each tree is full of intricate detail that reveals a mini ecosystem world.
Thanks to theAdult Urban Forestry Program, Friends of Trees has given me access to this relationship with living things that I wouldn’t otherwise have. I’m excited to one day share this with my little kids. It’s clear they love—and need—to get dirty and play with living things too. My family lives in a sixth floor apartment. We’ve tried growing things on our balcony, with limited success. We have containers of soil to scoop and dig in, and have discovered a few shade-tolerant flowers that can live up here. My brother gave me a maple tree that lives in a bucket and is leafing out in the April weather.
The natural world has so much to offer when we take our time with it. You notice the rustle of leaves, the interplay of light and shadow, you touch moss and smell things.
For me, pruning with Friends of Trees combines mental relaxation with problem-solving. You get this nice interplay between mental modes. When you prune, the first part is always about taking a step back, relaxing the mind, engaging the senses, and just taking the whole of the tree in. And our pruning and planting events are never about getting as much done as possible. They’re about meaningful connections with trees and with each other.
My kids are still a bit too young to join me at pruning events. For now, they explore nature through our balcony, parks, and a community garden. My four-year-old daughter is intrigued by the idea of pruning, and has requested “pruners that are the right size for kiddos.” Lately, when I pin my nametag on, she asks if I’m going to see “Friends in Trees,” (her term is far too cute for me to correct her yet!). I tell her, “one day soon, I’ll bring you with me.”
Our Eugene Team talks about why trees leafing out is so exciting
We’ve got a hot-button question for you: Does the spring leaf-out compete with fall color when it comes to visual splendor? Eugene Director Erik Burke thinks so.
“When trees are one-third leafed out and have that fresh yellow-green, they’re so full of life and vibrancy,” Erik says. “And trees leaf out at different times, so you have trees and all these different stages. For me, it’s equivalent to fall color.”
“This time of year people seem to really remember their trees and we get a lot of calls,” says Eugene-Springfield Program Manager Taylor Glass. “We get people wanting to plant trees but also worried that their tree might be dead. We tell them to wait a little bit longer because some trees are late bloomers (or late leafers!).”
Some trees like Oregon white oaks, Kentucky coffeetrees, and crepe myrtles don’t leaf out until later in the spring, which can be a bit worrying when their neighbors are fully leafed out already. Each species responds to its own set of parameters as to when to leave dormancy based on daylight, temperature and angle of the Sun. Trees take the energy that’s been stored in their trunk and roots and send it out to make leaves and grow buds.
Friends of Trees stops planting trees during the summer months so that we can plant trees while they’re dormant, giving time for their roots to establish before they need to put their energy toward growing leaves. But spring and summer is the best time to think about what tree you might want to plant, both for the conditions at the planting site and for the spring splendor you want to enjoy.
Maybe you’ve seen a Friends of Trees truck out on the road, transporting trees, native plants, and tools to planting sites for volunteers. We do a lot of driving! Which is why we’re excited to announce that we have acquired five new electric vehicles—three pickup trucks and two cargo vans.
“Sustainability is a core value for Friends of Trees,” says Executive Director Yashar Vasef. “We’re really excited that two grants could help us really upgrade or fleet with that value in mind.”
Three of the vehicles are thanks to our long-time partner Portland General Electric’s Drive Change Fund via the Oregon DEQ’s Clean Fuels Program. The Drive Change Fund awards grants for transportation electrification projects in our community. Two of the vehicles are thanks to a grant fromPortland Clean Energy Fund.
Next time you see us out on the road, it won’t be at a gas station! (Unless we need snacks, of course).
EARTH WEEK FUNDRAISERS
You can support Friends of Trees while you’re out on the town by visiting our business partners. Eat, drink, and plant trees!
Deschutes Brewery— $1 donated to Friends of Trees for every pint sold on Wednesday 4/22 (Earth Day!) and Tuesday 4/28
Burgerville— Tuesday 4/21, 9am to 10pm. Burgerville is donating 20% of proceeds from customers who present a flyer or mention Friends of Trees at all Portland Metro Area locations (except PDX): Montavilla, St. Johns, Convention Center, Hawthorne, 25 & Powell, Gresham, Centennial, Lake Oswego, West Linn, Aloha, Scholls & Allen
Carioca Bowls— 10% of sales donated to Friends of Trees all day on Wednesday, 4/22 (Earth Day!).
Cafe Yumm— (all locations) A percentage of sales donated to Friends of Trees all day on Wednesday, 4/22 (Earth Day!)
You might see Garry at some of these locations on Earth Day (if you’re lucky.)
FRIENDS OF TREES MERCH!
Friends of Trees has a new online Merch store! We have hats, sweatshirts, and tees with a bunch of fun designs. The apparel is printed on demand and shipped when you order—it takes about two weeks to arrive. This merch plants trees, with a portion of each sale benefitting Friends of Trees.
Our first bilingual planting ~ El Primer Evento Bilingüe de Plantar árboles de Friends of Trees | Get to know our partner: Sandy River Watershed Council
