America’s best airport gets better with trees

The Port of Portland has supported Friends of Trees’ planting programs since 2008 through the Airport Futures program.
Photo: Port of Portland

You may have heard that PDX—Portland International Airport—was recently named America’s Best Airport by Travel + Leisure. But did you also know that our airport is responsible for planting thousands of trees?

The Port of Portland—which includes the Portland International Airport, Troutdale and Hillsboro airports, four marine terminals, and several industrial properties—has supported Friends of Trees since 2008 as part of its ongoing commitment to stewardship and through the Airport Futures tree canopy enhancement program.

Volunteers planted 90 large trees last year along Elrod Slough, which runs through Port of Portland land.Photo: Port of Portland.
Volunteers planted 90 large trees last year along Elrod Slough, which runs through Port of Portland land.
Photo: Port of Portland.

In 2013, we worked together to transform Elrod Slough, a section of the Columbia Slough that runs through an industrial park off of NE 33rd Ave. to the east of the airport. Port staff got their hands dirty along with members of the Timbers Army and other volunteers to plant 90 large 8- to 12-foot trees along the slough, turning a man-made channel into a place where nature has an opportunity to coexist.

This planting was organized in partnership with the Columbia Slough Watershed Council, which has transformed the slough over the years from a place where hazardous chemicals were dumped to a place where fish, birds and boaters thrive.

The project was also funded by the Multnomah County Drainage District and received planting, water and care support from the City of Portland’s Revegetation Program and Verde.

The Elrod Slough planting is just one example of the Port’s support. The Port has helped bring trees to the nearby Cully neighborhood for several years. This upcoming season alone, the Port will sponsor seven plantings in area neighborhoods and regional green spaces, sending many of their own staff members as volunteers to join the fun.

If that’s not enough, we’re also honored to have the Port of Portland as our Platinum Sponsor for our 25th Anniversary gala, Once Upon a Tree, later this month.

We’d like to thank the Port of Portland for being such a leader in sustainability and for their longstanding and generous support of Friends of Trees. Here’s to many more trees planted together in the years to come!