Planting Day With Better Chances

Youth plant seven trees on Marine Drive, FOT communications intern Tony S. reports

I pull into a narrow strip of land on Marine Drive in North Portland on a crisp January morning. Today we are planting seven trees with 10 BIPOC youth from the nonprofit Better Chances. We trickle in. There are going to be quite a few of us. This land will be developed into housing, and we are here to help add some extra foliage for cooling, shade, and the many benefits trees provide.

I’m here as a participant in the Adult Urban Forestry Workforce Training Program (AUF), and this is my first assignment as a communications intern. I’m joining two Friends of Trees staff and four fellow AUF graduates in leadership roles who are here to facilitate the planting.

Smoke rises from a little fire barrel. It helps to dispel some of the morning chill. A few kids in their early teens gravitate to the edge of a frozen stream nearby. They throw sticks onto the ice in hopes of a satisfying sploosh. In the clearing is a table with plenty of snacks and supplies. It’s a cozy vibe.

Better Chances, founded by Kadir Abdullahi and Talietha Mathis, focuses on academic support and vibrant extracurricular activities that build positive youth development. They do things such as play basketball, go to BBQ cook outs, and white-water rafting. There is focus on curiosity, play and sensory enjoyment of nature.

After a planting demonstration led by Thomas Meinzen, Neighborhood Trees Specialist with Friends of Trees, we split into groups to get some more individualized practice. We definitely have a few side quests. A frog is found and relocated to the edge of our planting area. Some holes are in the wrong spot! They need to be moved. One of our trees comes out of the pot with a tight root-bound ball. Two energetic kids step up. They put in extra effort sawing out a slice of the ball and freeing the circling roots to grow outward. Thankfully we have a lot of helping hands for our tasks.

By noon, the frost has melted in the warm mild sun, and we have most of our trees in the ground standing upright. The root-bound tree ended up chosen to be swapped for a sturdier one at a later date—a good learning example!

It is blissful to be out in nature, just playing and learning in a multigenerational group. I think there’s a real sense of ownership and placemaking in planting trees together. Housing will go up here and things will look different soon, but the trees will be here and they will accompany us through time. Over the years, these kids will be able to watch the trees they planted grow as they grow.
Thanks to everyone at Better Chances for planting with us!