Rep. Blumenauer Joins Portland Tree Planters Tomorrow

Friends of Trees is honored that U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) will join our Portland planting in the Concordia and Vernon neighborhoods tomorrow. A long-time advocate for the environment and urban forestry, Rep. Blumenauer gave the keynote speech at the Arbor Day Foundation‘s annual conference in Portland four years ago. Below is his video message for the Alliance for Community Trees‘ NeighborWoods Month in October 2010.

Tomorrow, on the first Saturday of spring, Rep. Blumenauer will join homeowners and Friends of Trees volunteers as they plant 202 trees across two neighborhoods. The planting is sponsored by NW Natural and is part of Friends of Trees’ Plant It Portland! campaign, which was launched in 2010 to add thousands of trees to East Portland neighborhoods.

The Plant It Portland! campaign is made possible through Portland Bureau of Environmental Services’ Grey to Green Initiative, a nationally-lauded effort to use green infrastructure to reduce stormwater runoff and pollution. To date more than 20,000 trees have been added to the city as a result of the campaign.

Since 1989, Friends of Trees has partnered with agencies, businesses, foundations, individuals and community groups to plant nearly half a million trees in Portland and other NW cities. Last month Portland was chosen by the national nonprofit American Forests and national experts as one of the 10 best U.S. cities for urban forests.

In addition to the Concordia and Vernon neighborhood planting, Friends of Trees volunteers will plant at the Jackson Bottom Wetland in Hillsboro and in neighborhoods across Eugene and Springfield.