Remember your pet while helping the earth
By Emma Gray
The power of companion animals to enrich our lives is indisputable. Research has long demonstrated the concrete health and emotional benefits that our pets give to us, but we hardly need research to tell us how our animal friends make us feel or how devastating their loss can be.
The loss of a treasured family pet leaves an absence that is as palpable for many as the loss of any human connection. And as with any loss, the grieving process is a very personal and individual experience. Grief can leave us feeling not only sad but also powerless.
For Joanna Dorchuck, those feelings were helped by planting a tree with Friends of Trees. “After the passing of my beloved cat, my dear friend dedicated a Gift Tree to me. This kind expression of sympathy was so greatly appreciated during such an exceptionally difficult time for me,” said Dorchuck. Her feelings were echoed by another Gift Tree recipient, Karen Waibel, who noted, “Receiving a Gift Tree when our beloved family dog Dodger passed away really touched my heart.”
Both Dorchuck and Waibel received cards in the mail informing them of the gift and were also invited to help plant the tree, if they were able, at an invite-only Gift Tree planting several months later.
The Gift Tree program helps fund Friends of Trees’ natural area restoration work, which mobilizes thousands of volunteers each year to plant native trees and shrubs throughout the Portland-Vancouver and Eugene-Springfield metro areas. Gift Trees are currently planted in the Collins Sanctuary, a site near Forest Park, which is publicly held by Metro and managed by the Audubon Society of Portland. The Collins Sanctuary is open to visitors year-round.
“The positive energy of planting day continues to inspire and comfort me,” said Waibel. “I know Dodger is happy too! Is there any place else a dog would rather be?”
Click here for more info about our Gift Tree program or to order a tree.
–Gray is Individual Donor Relations Specialist for Friends of Trees.