Planting hearts

By Emma Gray

Over one hundred volunteers enjoyed the restorative beauty of sunshine at the Collins Sanctuary on Sunday, March 25, as they joined together to plant 580 new native trees and plants at the final Gift Tree Planting of the season. Sunday’s planting at the Sanctuary, a beautiful forest publicly held by Metro and managed by the Audubon Society of Portland, brought the total number of native trees and plants planted at Collins to over 2,500! We are very thankful for our partnership with Metro and Audubon that has allowed such an impact to be made on such a special place.

Each one of the 580 trees and plants was planted in honor or memory of a person or milestone event, making this planting one with lots of emotional power. The planting began with the reading of a poem by Nicaraguan poet, Rosario Murillo:

I’m going to plant a heart in the earth
water it with love from a vein
I’m going to praise it with the push of muscle
and care for it in the sound of all dimensions.
I’m going to leave a heart in the earth
so it may grow and flower
a heart that throbs with longing
that adores everything green
that will be strength and nourishment for birds
that will be the sap of plants and mountains.

As evidenced by the slide show above, planters truly planted their hearts in the earth, and we are profoundly grateful for the opportunity to share that experience with everyone present.

If you would like to honor people or events with a tree planting, please consider Gift Trees. Your tax-deductible donation not only honors your loved ones but also helps fund Friends of Trees’ Green Space Initiative plantings. And from now until the end of May, please use the discount code SPRINGTREE to enjoy a 25% discount on a grove of six Gift Trees.

-Gray is Individual Donor Relations Specialist at Friends of Trees. The photos in the slide show above were taken by Lucia DeLisa.