Million Trees

One Million Reasons To Celebrate

SUNDAY, APRIL 27, 2025

One million trees—we did it! And you all sure showed up to celebrate with us. We were joined by so many friends. People who first planted with us decades ago. A couple who went on a tree walk last week. There were crew leaders who had been to dozens of events, or in one case, over 500. There were community partners and past interns and workforce training graduates—a true community came together to celebrate what we accomplished. Together. It was an honor to feel the love. People love Friends of Trees! And we love them back.

   

The millionth tree party felt very true to Friends of Trees! We were joined by 200 supporters, most of them devoted volunteers who helped us reach this awesome milestone. Lewi Longmire played music from the back of one of our pickup trucks while folks sipped Level Beer’s new One Million Trees Pilsner and hung out among the trees in our lot, laughing over memories of their time with Friends of Trees. It’s always been about trees, but it’s always been about friends, too.

   

It felt like a neighborhood planting event—and it was! Instead of a Saturday morning, it was a Sunday afternoon. Instead of 100 trees, we were planting just one: our monumental millionth tree, a silverleaf oak, a climate resilient tree picked to shade the community members when they use the bus stop by our office. There was an air of reverence around the tree even before we planted it, an eager anticipation, like we were sending an astronaut into space for the first time.

   

   

We used a pickup truck for a stage—how fitting is that! After an hour of food, fun, and moments of reconnection, we all gathered around to commemorate the moment. Everyone held a collective excitement, anticipating the moment when we’d reach 1 million trees and native plants. In some ways, it’s just a number. But it’s a gargantuan one, and it puts into perspective the magnitude of the accomplishment and impact we’ve made since 1989.

“How did we get here? Through the power of 75,000 community volunteers. It’s great to see so many familiar faces here today. I’m just elated that we’re at this milestone. Our mission is to build community through tree planting, and the community part is so important. This is what makes the magic happen, and I’m feeling it today.” – Yashar, Friends of Trees Executive Director.

When Richard Seidman founded Friends of Trees in 1989, he never could have imagined that we’d reach the milestone of one million trees and native plants. We were honored to have him join us at our millionth tree planting and celebration last month, and he added a true sense of history to the proceedings. “I gathered a number of people, some of whom had had trees cut down on their block, as a way to channel their grief into something positive,” Richard said of the very first trees we planted.

“I’m just so grateful for everybody who has participated from the beginning and over the years, so intrepidly,” Richard said in his remarks to the crowd. “It’s just a joy. Who knew something like this would happen?”

When it came time to celebrate and plant the millionth tree, there was a palpable feeling of accomplishment in the air. Cheers erupted as two of our staff, Christine and Kaitie, carried the tree through the crowd to the planting location.

Everyone gathered around while our Yashar, Maria, Toshio and his daughter Stella planted the tree. Toshio was the Chair of the Friends of Trees Board. His connection with the board began when he was an intern over a decade ago, a fitting reminder of how connections can last through the years.

   

Introducing one of our amazing crew leaders, Yashar spoke to the amazingness of volunteerism: “We could not get to a million without you showing up all those Saturday mornings. And your energy is infectious.”

“When I think about the phenomenal accomplishment of planting one million trees, my immediate next thought is the collaborative way that Friends of Trees plants means that there have been one million trees, and then millions of smiles. Millions of moments of people feeling empowered. Of dirty hands. Of connections that would not have been formed otherwise.”

-Shay Snyder, Crew Leader

Shay is such a star. At planting events, whenever Shay’s crew finishes planting a tree, they encourage the whole crew to do a tree dance in celebration. They took it to the next level and led the Tree Dance after we planted our Millionth Tree! After the tree was planted, so many people looked at it close up, took pictures with it, and celebrated the moment.

The magic of trees is that planting them is just the beginning. They’ll grow and provide their benefits for decades. We’ll get to know them and care for them, just like we get to know and care for our community. At Friends of Trees, we’re hopeful that one million trees and native plants is just the beginning. Like the trees—and you all—we’ll keep showing up.

NEWS COVERAGE

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

This is an amazing opportunity to consider a special gift to Friends of Trees. Given the increasing severity of the impacts of climate change, getting started on our next million trees is more important than ever—and we need your help more than ever. Your gift to Friends of Trees will play a key role in ensuring our long term ability to grow our community forest where and when we need it most, and to make sure the community is involved in the process.

Make a donation to our Millionth Tree Campaign

THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS

Presenting Millionth Tree Partner:

Thanks to all of our Million Tree Partners!

Community, Million Trees

A MILLION TREES

Friends of Trees planted our monumental millionth tree* this April!

When Richard Seidman founded Friends of Trees in 1989, he never could have imagined that we’d reach the milestone of one million trees and native plants. We were honored to have him join us at our millionth tree planting and celebration last month, and he added a true sense of history to the proceedings.

“I’m just so grateful for everybody who has participated from the beginning and over the years, so intrepidly,” Richard said in his remarks to the crowd. “It’s just a joy. Who knew something like this would happen?”

At a party that felt very true to Friends of Trees, we were joined by 200 supporters, most of them devoted volunteers who helped us get here. Lewi Longmire played music from the back of one of our pickup trucks while folks sipped Level’s new One Million Trees Pilsner and hung out among the trees in our lot. When it came time to celebrate and plant the millionth tree, there was a palpable feeling of accomplishment that everyone in attendance shared.

“How did we get here?” Yashar, our executive director asked the crowd. “Through the power of 75,000 volunteers. Our mission is to build community through tree planting, and the community part is so important. This is what makes the magic happen, and I’m feeling it today.”

The magic of trees is that planting them is just the beginning. They’ll grow and provide their benefits for decades. We’ll get to know them and care for them, just like we get to know and care for our community. At Friends of Trees, we’re hopeful that one million trees and native plants is just the beginning. Like the trees—and you all—we’ll keep showing up.

YOU CAN BE A PART OF THIS!

Volunteer   |  Donate

Earth Month & Millionth Tree SPECIAL EVENTS

FRIENDS OF TREES ANNUAL SHADE TREE SALE

 

TREE WALKS

  • Wednesday, April 16th, 5:30 PM ~ Tree Equity Walk in NE Portland with Columbia Slough Watershed Council
  • Thursday, April 17th, 6 PM ~ Tigard Native Plant Walk
  • Monday, April 21, 4 – 5:30 PM ~ North Portland Tree Walk
  • Wednesday April 30th, 6 PM ~ Vancouver Tree Walk

 

TREE TRIVIA, with a spin

  • Monday, April 21, 6 – 7:30PM
  • Chill n Fill, 5215 N Lombard
  • Featuring urban ecology expert Dr. Vivek Shandas
  • We’ll turn the tables on Vivek during Treevia Roulette, where YOU ask the questions! Audience members will spin the wheel and get to ask Vivek a question based on wheel categories such as Trees in Hot Times, Trees & Magic, and more! Will you stump Vivek? How are Vivek’s improv skills? Come with your questions and find out!
  • No registration, open to the public, tell your friends!

About Vivek: Dr. Vivek Shandas has more than two decades of climate and environmental science experience and has published over 100 scientific publications and four books; his work has appeared in the NYTimes, The New Yorker, National Geographic, Scientific American, Times of India, Le Monde, Volkskrant , CNN and other international and national media.

 

 

SPECIAL CONTENT

 

A MILLION TREES, A MILLION STORIES

Part of our Millionth Tree season is reflecting on our rich history and the impact we’ve made together. Our millionth tree is a true milestone, and we want to honor the 999,999 trees that came before it and the thousands of volunteers that made it happen.

Check out all the stories here!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

This is an amazing opportunity to consider a special gift to Friends of Trees. Given the increasing severity of the impacts of climate change, getting started on our next million trees is more important than ever—and we need your help more than ever. Your gift to Friends of Trees will play a key role in ensuring our long term ability to grow our community forest where and when we need it most, and to make sure the community is involved in the process.

Make a donation to our Millionth Tree Campaign

THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS

Presenting Millionth Tree Partner:

Thanks to all of our Million Tree Partners!

 

              

 

 

*and native shrubs!

A healthy urban forest is not complete without natural areas filled with native plants. These green spaces provide habitat to wildlife, clean our water, and provide opportunities for people to connect with nature.

Million Trees

About Our Millionth Tree

Why we chose a silverleaf oak

This climate resilient oak will serve as a milestone of what we’ve accomplished and a vision for the future

Planting our millionth tree is quite the milestone, so we wanted to make sure to be thoughtful about selecting a tree that would benefit the community, and just as important, be intentional with choosing a tree that could thrive in our parking lot next to such a busy street. We are facing a future of increasingly long hot summers, and more extreme storms, and there are a lot of unknowns about what trees will thrive in our western cities. The silverleaf oak seems like it could be one of those trees.

The silverleaf oak (Quercus hypoleucoides) is native to the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, and is adapted to hot, dry conditions, cold temperature, can handle snow and poor, limited soil. Sean Hogan, owner of Cistus Nursery, recently spoke at the Our Trees in Oregon workshop and touted the silverleaf oak as an excellent tree for our current and future climate challenges, specifically within the urban environment of the Portland Metro area. He spoke of seeing individuals growing from rocks with little soil in Mexico, while also seeing how the specimens around Portland can bounce back from being covered in snow and ice.

Friends of Trees strongly believes in the concept of right tree, right place. That means selecting a tree species that suits the conditions of the location, taking into consideration the available sunlight, soil, water, and space. In the urban environment, and in the face of climate change, sometimes we look to hardy non-native species that will do well in tough conditions. The environment along MLK Jr Blvd is an incredibly harsh environment for trees, with full sun exposure and radiant heat in the summer, pollution from vehicle exhaust, poor soil quality, and moderate foot traffic next to a bus stop. In addition, while the tree well is much larger than average, it still presents a limited soil volume for a tree to grow and thrive in.

What this tree can do for the community.

We love oaks! They are particularly good at providing benefits to people and wildlife alike, and the silverleaf oak is no exception.

While this oak is of medium stature, it is evergreen, which is a bonus for intercepting rain water in our region, where we predominantly receive all of our rainfall during the fall and winter months. Many trees planted in the Metro area are deciduous and are not able to intercept nearly as much rainwater as evergreen trees. These fuzzy leaves that stick around will also capture more particulate pollution from vehicle exhaust, year round.

Additionally, the silverleaf oak is pretty fast growing when it’s young and can help to provide shade much sooner than an Oregon white oak. As extreme summer heat becomes more common, and even expected, we need all the shade we can get.

The new silverleaf oak being planted at our office is our millionth, yes, but it is also just one of the million. Thousands of volunteer have come together to plant a million trees and native plants, and together we’re building a community forest for the future.

Physical characteristics

  • Mature size: 30-50 ft high, 20-30 ft wide
  • Evergreen
  • Leaves are gray-green on top, silver-white on the bottom; fuzzy
  • Smooth, gray-green bark when young

More resources

Thank you for your support!

This is an amazing opportunity to consider a special gift to Friends of Trees. Given the increasing severity of the impacts of climate change, getting started on our next million trees is more important than ever—and we need your help more than ever. Your gift to Friends of Trees will play a key role in ensuring our long term ability to grow our community forest where and when we need it most, and to make sure the community is involved in the process.

Make a donation to our Millionth Tree Campaign

Community, Million Trees

Come for the Trees, Stay for the People

Reflections from the Friends of Trees Staff

Hi there, I’m Colin. I’m the person who puts together these stories. You might have met me at an event, or seen a glimpse of me in a social media post, but for the most part I like to step back and let other people shine. As the Friends of Trees communications manager, I see it as my job to amplify other people’s voices.

My favorite thing about that is getting to talk to people. Everyone has a story. I asked our staff to contribute their own stories, to reflect on their time at Friends of Trees, to you all a little more of some of the people who have helped us reach the milestone of a million trees and native plants.

Why am I stepping (briefly) out from behind the curtain? Well, I figured it’s only fair to not just write an anonymous little intro. I wanted to tell you all, as Colin, that our staff is a truly special group of people. The passion you see is not a performance—they truly, deeply care about bringing people together to make their community a better place. And for all the staff members you meet out in the world, there are more behind the scenes who care just as much.

Talking to my teammates for this project has been one of the highlights of my own time at Friends of Trees and I’m so excited to share their inspiring words with you.

JENNY

Volunteer & Outreach Manager

I started volunteering with Friends of Trees when I was ten years old. I have memories of going to the Sunnyside neighborhood plantings every year for several years. We’d walk to the church where the event was staged from our house.

In my family it was important to be part of collective community service. It was part of our faith practice. We also did soup dinners and litter cleanups. I was most drawn to anything working outside with other people, to the point that I pursued an education and career in it.

After college, working as a grassroots organizer, I realized that I love working with people on important issues and collectively we can make a big impact. When I started working at Friends of Trees, I recognized the potential of making a collective impact alongside people from all walks of life. Having come from climate organizing, I remember being astounded working on an issue with a near universal connection to people. Trees are a powerhouse issue that overlaps with nearly everybody’s interests. .

I think it’s common for a lot of people to come to Friends of Trees for the trees and stay for the people. I was inspired by the mission and wanted to bring my community engagement skills. That’s still true. Every day is different. Every month is different. It’s never boring.

It’s a brilliant combination: to bring together the power of trees and the power of community. We don’t “use” volunteers. We intentionally build programming around community engagement. It’s a total privilege to maintain this value and identity within the organization.

You know what’s also a privilege? Helping people connect with trees and the landscape. It’s a human right and need in my opinion, to commune with plants. And people recognize that. In our volunteer surveys, so many people just say, “Heck yeah! I loved learning how to plant, and making a difference with plants.”

Some of my favorite moments are when people who know each other from somewhere else in life see each other at an event and reconnect. They get to recognize in each other that they both care about this thing. It makes you realize you’re not alone in caring.

MARIO

Neighborhood Trees Specialist, Washington County

I love the magic of an event. Separate lives coming together for one specific moment. Sometimes I get a feeling of helplessness with all that goes on in the world, but when people who wouldn’t have met or hung out together otherwise plant 50 trees in 3 hours, that’s magical.

One of the highlights of my time at Friends of Trees was at the Tigard Library, where we planted a model for a climate resilient urban forest. That’s the project I always wanted to do, showing what an urban forest can look like. We planted some really cool trees.

When I started as a Neighborhood Trees specialist, I was super interested in learning about trees. Tree identification, ecology, things like that. It turns out, I also get a lot of satisfaction in teaching. Tree walks are the most fun, seeing people have a lightbulb moment. For a while it was a little out of my comfort zone but it’s great to get the knowledge out.

I know firsthand that learning a tree fact can really set your life in a different direction. I remember when a friend first showed me a thimbleberry, told me to feel how soft the leaves are and to taste the berry. That set me off on my interest in botany.

I’ve loved working in urban forestry. You learn that native trees aren’t always suited to the urban environment. When you’re pulling from trees from around the world, you get to learn the history of the species. In a way, we’re building an arboretum of the world.

Washington County is the most diverse county in Oregon. It’s not just wealthy suburbs, and our work there really aligns with our tree equity goals. We’re establishing new programming, creating more intimate planting events. I get to meet people from all over the world.

LOREN

Green Space Specialist

I was drawn to Friends of Trees because of the longstanding and authentic commitment to serving our communities. When I was going through the application process, everyone I talked to remarked on how they knew about Friends of Trees, loved the work, etc. I was also set on getting back into the plant world of environmental stewardship and can’t think of a better place to combine my passion for plants with community engagement. I’ve loved my time here thus far largely because of the amazingly kind, supportive, nerdy, and passionate people who champion Friends of Trees’ efforts.

I love trees and feel especially connected to them because of their steady, wise presence. When I need a reset, I head into the woods to be with the trees—they’re some of the best emotional support you can get.

If you’re angry, you can push on them and they will hold that frustration and remain standing strong. If you’re sad you can sit beneath them and sob and they will hold you close and absorb your tears. I have been looking to them especially as beacons of hope and resilience in a scary world.

In just two months I have been able to make more connections in my community thanks to being at Friends of Trees. I met a neighbor on my street after years of living here because she saw my Friends of Trees truck parked out front and started a conversation. I’ve connected a number of volunteers at events to other community spaces, and meeting people all the time who want to be part of caring for our environment.

MEGAN

Deputy Director

I started volunteering with FOT in 2013 because I loved trees. Initially, it was all about the trees for me.

I showed up the morning of the planting. People were standing around, eating donuts and sipping coffee. It was that slightly awkward moment when people didn’t quite know what to expect or what they’d signed up for. Before long we sorted into our planting crews and I headed out to plant trees. I was on the bike crew, so we attached trailers to several of our bikes and loaded them up with trees. The joy (and whimsy!) of planting trees by bike still makes me smile. Our crew leaders led us through the planting process, and before long, we were all planting trees and laughing.

What sticks in my mind is not the planting part though, but the potluck after. We were planting hundreds of trees that day and all these volunteers had come out to help, many never having planted before and not knowing each other. After spending the morning planting trees with strangers, when the planting crews returned we would all sit together and share a meal of pizza and homemade dishes. Over that meal, we got to know each other a little bit.

Seeing this for the first time was what made me recognize the magic that Friends of Trees creates. We bring people together to do something positive in their community and to foster connection.

I may have originally volunteered for the trees, but it’s the people that have made me stay.

WINNIE

Neighborhood Trees Specialist, Salem

Before working at Friends of Trees, I first volunteered for a college class. After that, I kept coming back a few more times—sometimes on my own, sometimes with friends—and it was always such a fun and welcoming experience.

Fast forward to when the Neighborhood Tree Specialist role opened up in my hometown, Salem, OR—I was so excited! It gave me a chance to reconnect with parks and neighborhoods I grew up in, and explore some new ones too. The cherry on top was being able to visit my parents more often which are memories I will forever cherish.

I love working at Friends of Trees because it lets me stay connected to urban forestry, my community, and the present moments. It reminds me to slow down and enjoy the little things—like catching a beautiful sunrise on an early event morning, holding a hot steamy cup of coffee, and soaking up that classic PNW weather, rain and all.

ADAM

Neighborhood Trees Field Technician

14 years ago, I quit a corporate job doing GIS. I didn’t like the bottom-line-oriented philosophy, and I quit without having anything lined up. I started volunteering at a farm and garden store, and at an urban farm. Both of those volunteer experiences turned into paying jobs, and that was how I transitioned into doing physical work and growing things. It turns out I really liked it. It felt good.

Through my work at the urban farm, I met a Friends of Trees employee who told me about a part-time field tech job. The 2018 planting season was my first. I quickly found I enjoyed the work and the people, and had an inkling that this job wasn’t going to be short term for me. Sure enough, I joined the staff full time in 2019.

It was a combination of timing and luck that brought me here. Maybe it was a make your own luck situation.

I started doing the work in the job description, and then I kept doing more, using some of my other skills and experiences. I like that at Friends of Trees we have the opportunity to do lots of different things. I like being helpful. I like that feeling. It’s a core value at Friends of Trees that people are not just their jobs. That’s not something I found to be true in some of my corporate jobs.

I don’t consider myself that much of a tree person. Don’t get me wrong, I like them a lot. I like that there’s so much to know about them. I like what Friends of Trees has taught me about them— that they bring people together. People want to get their hands dirty and be able to say, I planted that. A tree you planted is a reminder that you’re part of the place. They’re a link between the human world and the natural world.

As a field tech, I feel like I’ve gotten to know the whole metro area really well, seeing what places are really like, places I might not have gotten to know otherwise.

It’s really satisfying to make the swirling chaos of the week come together into an organized event where people have fun and plant trees.

My favorite part of the job is at the end of the event day when we’re back at the office, after we’ve unloaded, and I look around at the people I work with and think, I just really like working with these people. To work with people you like and respect, and to feel that they like and respect you, it’s so valuable.

TAYLOR

Eugene-Springfield Program Manager

For the last decade (what!?) I’ve been working with FOT. I have not only helped trees take root, but I’ve also rooted myself into the community of Eugene-Springfield. I moved to Eugene in 2013 and started volunteering with FOT in 2014.

The best part of the job is seeing the growth over time. Of the trees that establish and provide shade, habitat, and food for people and wildlife, and of the community members that join us each season. So much has changed. Like how Oregon white oaks are our top-planted tree now. That definitely wasn’t true when I started!

I’ve had so many cool experiences with folks that have just moved to the area seeking connection and with long time community members that share a plethora of local history. New folks hear of us through word-of-mouth, and that says a lot. People are talking about us!

There’s a group of physicians who come out every spring for four or five years now. They’re so nice, so hardworking, and have a great sense of humor. They might not be the people you’d expect to show up so reliably each year, but they are. It’s really cool. The joy of being outdoors is common ground for people here.

We have planted for some rad Eugene and Springfield residents including the current mayor of Springfield, one of the owner and founding members of Ninkasi Brewing, and the late UO track Olympian Wade Bell. I’ve also planted with folks that grew up near where some of us staff members are from including West Texas (me), Chicago (Jeff), and Orlando/Florida (Becca).

My favorite memories are just the fun times, the goofing around. Getting to meet cool people. Becca lounging in a debris pile after a pruning event. Sitting on the back of a truck bed and chatting at the end of a planting event. That’s the best.

CHRISTINE

Neighborhood Tree Specialist & Education Coordinator

When I moved to Oregon in 2013, I immediately felt a sense of peace and knew I had found home. I went to college in Salem and first volunteered with Friends of Trees in 2014. I thought it was a perfect opportunity because I wanted to be outside as much as possible and make new friends. I loved dragging friends to plantings on an early Saturday morning (which is an especially big feat in college). I still do that to this day, but now I work at Friends of Trees!

There is something so special about the tangible good we all do together at weekend plantings. I’ve been a Neighborhood Trees Specialist since 2021 and have probably coordinated the planting of close to 1000 trees over that time. I coordinate all those trees, yet it’s really the people I hold close. I hold a place in my heart for the crew leaders whose first planting event was the first event I led in Oregon City. I cherish the crew leaders who come week after week and always send awesome photos of their crews. I smile when I think about the high school honors society students who come to almost all of my plantings and plant trees like professionals.

I think fondly of my friends who have chosen to spend their Saturdays supporting one of my planting events. My college roommate who came with me to my first Friends of Trees planting in 2014 even visited from Boston in 2024 and came to one of my plantings. It really felt so full circle!

I get to teach others and share this special organization with so many. I remember the elementary students I worked with at Scott Elementary, the high schoolers at Helensview, and the preschoolers at Clarendon. I love working with tiny planters who are so excited to plant their first tree. The planting of that first tree is something they will probably remember for the rest of their lives and I get to be part of that!

Plus, I do this all with coworkers who I love planting with, singing karaoke with, and celebrating trees with. I know I have lifelong friends through many of the connections I’ve made through Friends of Trees.

It’s a one-of-a-kind place and we could honestly make a TV show out of all the shenanigans that goes on in our little house office in NE Portland. I wouldn’t have it any other way! There is so much care for the community in the hearts of the people who work at and volunteer with Friends of Trees.

CECE

Volunteer & Outreach Program Specialist

When I was attending PSU, I joined a Latina-founded sorority, Kappa Delta Chi, inc., KDChi for short. KDChi is a multicultural sorority that focuses on Academics and Service. One of my positions through my collegiate chapter, Beta Mu, was being the service officer. It was up to me to come up with different service events for my sisters and through a volunteer expo is how I learned about Friends of Trees.

Because PSU has a lot of commuter students, we had sisters who lived in several different areas where Friends of Trees hosted events. Naturally, no pun intended, it was a great fit! With the diversity of neighborhoods and natural areas Friends of Trees plants, we were able to contribute to many of our sister’s neighborhoods, where they grew up, currently lived or had a special memory of the area. After events, we would often go out to eat together at someone’s favorite local restaurant.

Looking back it’s definitely a fond memory of mine to go out planting and mulching with my sorority sisters. It was fun to work on something together, being out in nature, finding earthworms, breathing the fresh air and getting muddy. Many of us both worked and went to school full time and being at a planting event felt like a form of escapism from our busy lives and work.

Service is a core value of the sorority, and for me personally. Since graduating, I am still connected to that community, I am now part of our local alumni chapter and still do community outreach, now for my alumni chapter, and yes, we have planted together in one of our alumni sister’s neighborhood.

When I meet people at Friends of Trees events, everyone has a different reason for being there. It’s endearing to find out their motivations for being there and why they are choosing to spend either a Saturday or several Saturdays with us. There’s a wide variety of volunteers, from students completing service hours to tree recipients wanting to chip in.

For many, it’s just because.

A lot of what I had growing up came from volunteers and charities. I give back because I was able to benefit from kindness and the generosity of others. Other organizations have a more obvious direct service, which is great. With Friends of Trees, we’re making sure our neighborhoods are a better place to live for future generations. It’s humbling to see and meet folks who are involved in that type of service.

JILLIAN

Neighborhood Tree Specialist, Washington County

I’ve had such a wiggly journey through different positions! I started working at Friends of Trees in 2022 as a part-time field tech. I was in grad school and writing my thesis, then I started helping with the volunteer and outreach program. Now I’m a fulltime neighborhood trees specialist.

Sometimes I miss my days as a field tech. Going around neighborhoods and prepping for an event, for that week, I felt like I lived in that neighborhood. I got to interact with tree recipients in person. That was at a time when folks were really seeking reconnection. People were eager to share their gardens with me. Each interaction was a little treat.

I’ve never had a planting event go exactly as I imagined. That would take away from the specialness of it. When things don’t necessarily go as planned, that’s how we learn what’s important to that community. There’s not a blanket tree planting event that would cover everywhere with.

At my Forest Grove planting this spring, I remember driving in, not knowing what to expect, just thinking, “Okay, it’s gonna happen.” Then, everything was smooth sailing. There was a beautiful sunrise. It was a crisp sunny January day. Volunteers were receptive to talking about climate change. We had all the trees we needed. Driving away, I was thinking, “that was great.”

My favorite part about the job is that I can show up how I am and so many people are so down with it. We’re organized, we care about what we do, and we’re real people. Doing the work we do, it would be really hard to compartmentalize yourself.

After I finished grad school, the staff threw me a party. It meant a lot to me to be supported in both a personal and professional way. I’m incredibly grateful to be fostered by this community.

ADELA

Neighborhood Trees Specialist, Vancouver

I’ve made some of my dearest friends through my work at Friends of Trees. Friendships that transcend the pieces of our identities that sometimes segment us, put us into boxes – these relationships are intergenerational, interracial, intercultural. This work is about the trees, of course, but really it’s about so much more than that. It’s the people that have rooted me here.

I came to Friends of Trees after moving across the country—uprooting my life and community to take a chance on a city I’d never visited before, but heard a lot about.

This tree community was a soft landing pad for me – I’m forever grateful that my roots landed in this particular forest, because the soil is so rich, and the trees grow tall and proud.

LITZY

Community Tree Care Coordinator

I first worked with Friends of Trees as a volunteer in 2012. I was a crew leader, a pruning leader, a summer inspector, and I worked as a Friday volunteer, helping staff move trees to the staging site. I was drawn in by the sincerity of the staff and how they made me feel special as a volunteer. That’s still a central thread of what we do.

I started as a canvasser in 2014, during which time I got to see Portland on the ground, garden by garden. It connected me to the plants and trees of the community. In January 2016, I started as a full time staff member.

My time at Friends of Trees has really taught me to appreciate working with people. Having all those interactions over the years—witnessing the joy that people feel when they learn something, navigating the complexity of guiding and teaching.

That connection with people—both the staff and the public—is the most fulfilling part of the job. It’s what makes this job so special. We’re so lucky to get to be in partnership with the community itself. One-on-one conversations with people really fill my cup with joy and contentment. I had felt that before the pandemic, and now I really feel it.

During the pandemic, I remember helping someone plant trees at their house. They really wanted to learn. We were doing this physical thing together, we were connecting during a turbulent time, and we were talking about trees, which I love to do. Since then, I have felt really tuned in to moments like that.

I’ve been here a long time. It’s like a microcosm of my life. I’ve had the opportunity to grow, adapt, and change along with the organization and the people who work here.

KAITIE & CHRISTINE

Program Specialists, Friends

Christine and Kaitie first met in 2019 at a mutual friend’s dinner party, and quickly bonded over their passion for the environment. Kaitie had been working at the Bureau of Land Management and Christine was finishing her second AmeriCorps term as an Environmental Education and Outreach leader. After just one bowl of pho, they knew they were going to be fast friends.

After just this one meeting, they decided to become roommates when Christine moved to Portland later that year. They spent their weekends squeezing every drop out of life. They began spending their days camping, hiking, and even volunteering at Friends of Trees together! Friends of Trees combines two of their favorite things–being outside and building community!

They lived apart for a couple years, but decided to live together again during Christine’s first season as a Neighborhood Trees Specialist at Friends of Trees. Kaitie came to Christine’s plantings and crew led–planting trees like a pro! The following year, Kaitie started working at Friends of Trees as a Green Trees Specialist.

The two specialists are part of different programs and sometimes get to collaborate on educational projects and even occasionally carpool to work. They both share a deep care for other people and nature as well as the shared goal of maximizing the day. The two of them are usually the first to volunteer to plan or attend a fun social event with coworkers. It’s pretty rare to spend so much time with someone and want to continue hanging out with them! They live together, work together, and even travel together. They celebrate successful planting seasons by traveling in the summer to countries like Guatemala and Colombia. Their excitement for creating connections comes out even more when they are traveling internationally.

Kaitie and Christine have planted dozens of shrubs and trees together and they’re always doing it with a smile. This organization has brought so many core memories and inspiring people into their lives. It’s so special to be part of a friendship that supports growth in each other while supporting the planting of the millionth tree!

Million Trees

A MILLION STORIES

A MILLION TREES, A MILLION STORIES

This season at Friends of Trees, we will plant our millionth tree. Our millionth tree, like all of the trees and native shrubs we’ve planted, will be planted with the power of community volunteers.

We hope you’ll join us in celebrating! You can volunteer at one of our many planting events, join us at a special millionth tree event (tree walks, tree talks, treevia, and more!), make a donation in honor of our millionth tree, or tell your own story about what trees mean to you.

Come for the Trees, Stay for the People

Reflections from the Friends of Trees Staff

Hi there, I’m Colin. I’m the person who puts together these stories. You might have met me at an event, or seen a glimpse of me in a social media post, but for the most part I like to step back and let other people shine. As the Friends of Trees communications manager, I see it as my job to amplify other people’s voices.

My favorite thing about that is getting to talk to people. Everyone has a story. I asked our staff to contribute their own stories, to reflect on their time at Friends of Trees, to show our audience a little more of some of the people who have helped us reach the milestone of a million trees and native plants.

Why am I stepping (briefly) out from behind the curtain? Well, I figured it’s only fair, I can’t just write an anonymous little intro for this one. I also wanted to tell you all, as Colin, that our staff is a truly special group of people. The passion you see is not a performance—they truly, deeply care about bringing people together to make their community a better place. And for all the staff members you meet out in the world, there are more behind the scenes who care just as much.

Talking to my teammates for this project has been one of the highlights of my own time at Friends of Trees and I’m so excited to share their inspiring words with you.  Find all the wisdom, nostalgia, humor, and more here.

How To Do The Tree Dance

Volunteer crew leader Shay Snyder knows that climate action should be fun and inclusive.

When Shay’s crew finishes planting a tree, they encourage the whole crew to do a tree dance in celebration.

“The tree dance? I’m obsessed with it,” they say. “One thing I’ve learned from teaching adults is that they don’t have many chances to feel like a kid. And we’re playing in the dirt, we can feel like a kid.”

Shay teaches college success at Portland State University and believes their classroom management skills help them be a confident and engaging crew leader at Friends of Trees neighborhood tree plantings. They strive to achieve the balance of creating a fun atmosphere and accomplishing something meaningful. Doing something tangible was what drew Shay to Friends of Trees in 2021.

“I was feeling really stressed about climate change…Why did I say that in the past tense? I am really stressed about climate change. But it feels better to do something about it.”

Shay doesn’t think they ever planted a tree before volunteering with Friends of Trees, but didn’t let that hold them back.

“I’m definitely not a tree expert. But just because I’m not a botanist or a biologist doesn’t mean I can’t contribute. I just learned how to plant a tree. Almost anyone can dig in the dirt.”

Friends of Trees strives to create inclusive planting events. Anyone can come, regardless of their background or experience. Shay loves that planting events bring together lots of people who care about trees.

“You get to meet people you’re unlikely to meet otherwise,” they say. “There’s something so special about a group of people spending four hours together and accomplishing something. And maybe you never see them again, and that’s okay.” For Shay, those connections are powerful, and a model for climate action that also bridges divides between people.

Read more of Shay’s story here. Oh yeah, and you want to know how to do a Tree Dance? Just plant a tree. And dance. Together.

Every Muddy Day Is Worth It

Carolyn’s commitment to crew leading is inspired by a sense of community and fun

Carolyn is the type of Crew Leader who brings cookies to planting events on her own birthday. She has a keen sense of the big difference that small actions can make, and even more simply, believes in the importance of fun.

“It’s so much fun,” she says of crew leading. “Why would I want to do anything else?”

She learned about Friends of Trees in 2019, quickly became a Crew Leader and volunteers as often as she can, racking up almost 400 volunteer hours at dozens of events in the years since.

“It’s too easy to become isolated in this world,” she says. “I volunteer every weekend if I can. It’s the best way to stay active.”

Carolyn especially loves leading crews at Green Space plantings, enhancing natural areas in urban parks. She loves seeing the plants grow from year to year. And because she is so active, she gets to meet people, then remeet people.

“You start each event with: we don’t even know each other, but we are a community,” she says. “And it’s so exciting when you see people come back for another event. It makes me want to weep!”

After a planting event, she goes home, washes her muddy clothes, and enjoys the satisfaction of what she and her crew accomplished. She sees it as her role as a Crew Leader to make sure her crew feels that same satisfaction, that they’ll later feel the pull to revisit what they planted to see how it’s grown. Carolyn sees the long term impact, the growth of both trees and community, and she knows it all starts with people simply showing up.

“Just the fact that people come,” she says, “makes every muddy day worth it.”

When asked what she would say to someone considering becoming a Crew Leader, she had a simple response: “Do it. It is just so fun.”

Read more of Carolyn’s story here.

 

Heritage Trees Have To Start Somewhere

Since he was a teenager, Reggie’s deep involvement with Friends of Trees has taken many forms.

Reggie’s tree planting has always been motivated by a sense of justice. When he was a teen, a neighbor convinced one of his parents to remove mature trees in their yard, leaving it barren and exposed.

“It was traumatic to walk up to the house one day and see a crane with a crowd of neighbors watching these beautiful trees be dismantled,” Reggie says. “They had provided a lot of good.”

A couple years later in 2008, Reggie volunteered for his first Friends of Trees planting event at Taliesen Park in Beaverton after seeing a posting in the newspaper. It was an Arbor Day planting event, and at the end of it, Reggie was given a 1-gallon Douglas fir to take home with him and plant where he pleased.

“That small free conifer really changed things for me. I realized, I can actually plant this at home in the yard where the trees had been. And now I know how.”

After that, Reggie volunteered at Friends of Trees planting events in Beaverton whenever he could. When he went to Eugene for college, he started volunteering with the Eugene Branch. At his first event in Eugene in 2012, he remembers planting a blue oak—a species native to California that will likely do well in Oregon as the climate warms—the first ever blue oak as a street tree in Eugene.

“It was a historic moment,” Reggie says. “Where do ‘heritage trees’ start? They have to start somewhere.”

During his junior year of college, Reggie became a Crew Leader and went to even more planting events. His senior year, he interned with Friends of Trees in Eugene. His first job out of college, back in the Portland area, was as a Friends of Trees outreach assistant, going door to door to encourage people to sign up to have trees planted at their homes.

He still participates in every Beaverton event that he can. Read more of his Friends of Trees story here.

“All things tree-related, Reggie’s the guy,” says Mario Catani, the Friends of Trees Neighborhood Trees Specialist for Washington County.” Personally, I am super inspired by him.”

Nature as a refuge and a career path for Black youth

“I know the healing properties of nature and I’ve seen kids not benefit from that, not have access to that.”

When Jason was growing up in the suburbs of Portland, nature was his refuge.

“Growing up Black in the ‘80s, the suburbs were really racist,” Jason says. “I was harassed by police all the time. Teachers discounted me. We had a wooded area in our backyard, and the West Hills were still undeveloped. I would go outside to find peace and healing.”

This is a lesson that Jason Stroman has carried with him into his work at the Blueprint Foundation, which he helped found in 2015 to address large disparities in high school retention and graduation rates for Black students in Portland’s Public high schools. What began as a mentorship program has evolved to include a workforce training program, giving students experience and exposure to career paths in the environmental field.

After Blueprint was founded, they were looking for partners that made sense and could provide hands-on learning opportunities for the kids.

“I noticed lots of Friends of Trees activity in North and Northeast Portland. It seemed like a perfect fit because the students could do work right where they live.”

The community engagement model is another crucial piece for Blueprint’s partnership with Friends of Trees.

“A planting event might be the only time our students meet their neighbors. It creates community connections that wouldn’t happen organically.”

A favorite memory of Jason’s is a planting event in the King/Albina neighborhoods, which are historically Black but have since been gentrified.

“There are still elders who live there, but fewer young people,” Jason says. Blueprint had about a dozen students in the neighborhood planting trees. An elderly Black man stopped his car to ask what they were doing.

“He hadn’t seen such a large group of young Black people in his neighborhood in a long time. He told us it gave him hope, not just for the kids, but for the community.”

Jason is also a Friends of Trees board member! Read more of his story here.

GROWING OPPORTUNITY

“It wasn’t only a big step for me. It was a change in mentality.”

Adrián moved from Mexico City to Portland with his family and attended Portland Community College. In 2021, he got an internship with Friends of Trees through Project Zero, PGE’s social impact initiative committed to engaging the next generation in climate science learning, clean energy solutions and jobs in the green economy.

Through his internship, Adrián learned to plant and care for trees and green spaces, while also connecting with the community and charting a new career path.

“Friends of Trees is not all about planting trees. The other 50% is building community.”

For Adrián, building community is also about fighting climate change and fostering climate justice through planting trees in communities that have been historically underserved and have far fewer trees.

Watch the video below to learn about his journey and plans for the future.

FOR AYAN

“When I think of trees, I think of resilience.”

Mohamed and Farah moved from Somalia to Portland in 1995, where they raised their six children. In 2014, their daughter Ayan, a freshman at Pacific University, tragically passed away in a car accident. Mohamed and Farah, wanting to do something as a family to commemorate Ayan, joined Friends of Trees to plant trees in her memory.

“It was bringing us together as a family in one place for a cause,” Mohamed says. “That was really healing for us as a family.”

Attending planting events became a beloved family tradition, and they went on to plant hundreds of native trees and shrubs together.

“Every tree that we plant, I feel like it’s for her,” Farah says. “And I think about all the benefits that all these trees will produce an I feel like that is a continuous charity that keeps giving. That gives me a way to share her with the whole world.”

Watch the video below to hear their story.

 

A Million Trees, A Million Stories is brought to you by our Presenting Partner, Portland General Electric.