It’s Autumn: Trees change their colors – You change our world!
By Andy Meeks
Welcome to the first day of autumn and the season when trees change into their glorious colors. You can help foster that change by planting the next generation of trees with Friends of Trees as a trained volunteer Crew Leader!
Crew Leaders are crucial to our planting programs because they know how to plant trees properly and will lead groups of volunteers at more than 65 different planting events with Friends of Trees this season. We’re aiming to plant over 5,000 street and yard trees in our award-winning Neighborhood Trees program and around 25,000 native trees and plants in our award-winning Green Space Initiative program. Help us make those goals a reality!
No experience is necessary, but the enthusiasm and desire to make the Portland region a greener and healthier place is one thing all Crew Leaders share. As a Crew Leader, you can make a tangible, immediate contribution—plus, it’s an excellent way to meet people and learn more about our neighborhoods and green spaces.
Our urban canopy provides so many tangible benefits—including stormwater retention, carbon sequestration, traffic calming, shade and cooling, and significant property value appreciation—that it’s easy to overlook the less tangible benefits of aesthetic beauty, wildlife habitat, and the rustle of dry leaves on a cool night. Plant the next generation of trees that create our urban canopy!
To join our Crew Leader ranks (and earn a coveted Tree Team t-shirt in the process), you need to attend a training on a Saturday in November to learn how to plant trees, lead our crews of volunteers, and help be a liaison to the community at our events. We ask that all Crew Leaders attend at least four plantings over the course of the season, and these can be scheduled in advance so they best fit your schedule.
Pre-register now for either the Green Space Crew Leader program or the Neighborhood Trees Crew Leader program. Crew Leader positions are popular roles, and the trainings fill up quickly!
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Neighborhood Trees
Saturday, November 5: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
- Portland – Moreland Presbyterian Church, 1814 SE Bybee Street
Saturday, November 19: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
- Vancouver – Evergreen Bible Church, 9600 East Mill Plain Blvd.
Green Space Initiative
Saturday, November 12: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
- Portland — Audubon Society of Portland, 5151 NW Cornell Rd.
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If you have any questions about this role or need additional information, please don’t hesitate to contact Andy Meeks at 503-282-8846 ext. 24 or AndyM[@]FriendsofTrees.org. We hope to work with you this season!
— Meeks is the Volunteer & Outreach Program Manager for Friends of Trees.