Conference begins with I-205 service project

GSI + ACT planting: 11.08.09, I-205 bike path
Friends of Trees and Alliance for Community Trees planted trees along the I-205 bike path Sunday, Nov. 8. (FOT file)

Partners in Community Forestry 2009

National Arbor Day Conference: Nov. 8

What once was a grassy slope opposite I-205 is now home to 30 trees, courtesy of a pre-conference service project put on by Friends of Trees and Alliance for Community Trees (ACT).

Early arrivers for the 2009 Partners in Community Forestry conference took an eco-shuttle from their hotel and spent the soggy afternoon comparing planting techniques and nursery containers as they created a future tree line along the interstate bike path, near Washington St.

GSI + ACT planting: 11.08.09, I-205 bike path
Conference goers pose for a photo after planting 30 trees. (FOT file)

“Look at this; look at all the potential,” said Sharon Kelly, program director for Canopy in Palo Alto, commenting on the scale and scope of the Green Space Initiative (GSI) project.

Partnering with Oregon Department of Transportation and Metro, GSI will begin planting 1,000 trees along the multi-use path this winter.

Today’s planted species included Rocky Mountain Glow Maple, Ponderosa Pine, Douglas Fir, Oregon White Oak, Garry Oak and Chinkapin Oak.

Check back on the blog this week for complete coverage of the national Arbor Day Foundation conference.

–Toshio Suzuki