From Cambodia to Oregon, working to break up concrete and steel

By Shelli Romero

The first Saturday in November was a cold gray day, but that didn’t stop Sochetra Ly from joining in the first public ODOT-Friends of Trees-Metro planting of the season along the I-205 Multi-Use Path.

Ly, a native of Cambodia, has lived in Oregon for 23 years. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon where he majored in chemistry and physics. For the past five years he has worked for Microchip Tech in Gresham as a yield technician, working to increase the number of good chips on a wafer.

Ly’s hobbies include cycling and gardening. He recently saw an ad in a gardening center for volunteers to plant trees along the I-205 Multi-Use Path, which inspired him to join the Nov. 6 planting near Division Street. This was Ly’s second time volunteering for Friends of Trees, although he said he engages in other planting activities three to four times a month, rain or shine.

“The first time I volunteered with Friends of Trees I planted shrubs and trees, and threw bark,” said Ly. “It was a group effort.”

Over the past 21 years, Friends of Trees has planted 395,000 trees and shrubs in Oregon with the help of volunteers like Ly. At the Nov. 6 planting, more than 30 volunteers planted over 100 trees along the I-205 Multi-Use Path.

Ly said he enjoys planting alongside first-time tree planters and he hopes to organize and plant more in the future.

“Planting trees as a buffer between I-205 and residential areas creates green space,” he commented. “I’ve seen a lot of concrete and steel, and the trees and shrubs break it apart and make the area more aesthetically pleasing.”

With grant funding from Metro’s Nature in Neighborhoods Capital Grant program, ODOT and Friends of Trees—with support from volunteers—will add thousands of trees and shrubs in existing ODOT property along the I-205 Multi-Use Path over a three year period. The project is part of ODOT’s overall vision to make significant improvements to the 16.5-mile path (which is used by commuters, neighbors, residents, bicyclists, pedestrians and transit users) and part of Friends of Trees’ Green Space Initiative.

To learn more about the project and upcoming plantings or to get involved, visit ODOT’s I-205 Multi-Use Path page or Friends of Trees’ Green Space Initiative page.

Romero is public policy & community affairs manager, ODOT-Region I