Friends of Trees advocates for trees in D.C.

Friends of Trees had a big week in Washington D.C., joining hundreds of other tree proponents to speak on behalf of green infrastructure and specifically the capitalization of trees.

“We met with our Congressional delegates to discuss the ways green infrastructure help our communities economically, socially, environmentally and human-health wise,” said Friends of Trees Executive Director Scott Fogarty.

Fogarty, who spoke at the Alliance for Community Trees’ (ACT) 2010 Green Infrastructure Summit, said the response from Oregon delegates and representatives from the Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency was “very, very receptive.”

Joining Fogarty at the Earth Day events were Friends of Trees partners Dean Marriott and Mike Rosen from the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, and Friends of Trees Board Member Nancy Buley from J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co.

Check back in next week for in-depth interviews and discussion on what they told Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Congressman Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and others about the future of trees as a capital asset.

–Toshio Suzuki