Community, donations, fundraiser, Garry Oak, Green Space, Habitat, Membership, Natural Areas, Nature, Neighborhood Trees, Plant It Portland, Restoration, Trees

THANK YOU! Onward to 2019 …

A giant thank you to everyone who donated to trees + community during our year-end campaign!

Your support is absolutely crucial in order for us to engage so many volunteers and plant so many trees in so many places. Ever wonder how we use your donation? Please join Garry Oak in exploring how your donation makes a difference.

 

 

Happy New Year!

Community, Green Space, Habitat, Health, Natural Areas, Nature, Neighborhood Trees, Portland Canopy, Restoration, Solstice, Trees, Volunteering

Welcoming the return of the sun … with trees

“Each Friends of Trees planting event is a series of moments, whether it’s somebody seeing a lizard, or a kid planting their first tree, or people who just happened to be walking by pitching in to help. One of the best moments is at the end of the day when everyone has a big smile on their face because they’ve really accomplished something: they planted trees.” Matt, Friends of Trees volunteer

     Did you know that the oldest tree in the world is 5,062 years old? It’s a Pinus longaeva (Great Basin bristlecone pine) and it’s in California.

     While we can’t claim with certainty that Friends of Trees just planted the newest tree in the world, it is possible, at least for a moment on any given Saturday, October-April, that we did indeed just plant the newest tree in the world. That’s another Friends of Trees moment: adding a tree–to our region, to our planet. And there are more than 50,000 moments like that every tree planting season.

     As we celebrate the Winter Solstice and welcome the return of the sun we’re thinking about the various ways the shortest day of the year is celebrated, especially, of course, the celebrations that include trees. We’ve learned that some Winter Solstice celebrations include specific trees that have specific meanings; for instance, for some observants evergreens symbolize continuity of life, and oak trees symbolize endurance, strength, protection, and good luck.

     We love this. Here’s how Friends of Trees interprets these special meanings of evergreens and oaks:

Continuity of life: trees provide oxygen!

Endurance, strength: trees can live to be hundreds, thousands of years old.

Protection: trees clean our air and water and help make us healthy.

Good luck: to me, it’s clear: the more trees we have, the luckier we are.

     A recent paper by U.S. Forest Service scientists* reported that metropolitan areas in the U.S. are losing more than 30 million trees each year. This is tragic, but thanks to Friends of Trees’ friends and supporters, we’re not fretting, we’re taking action and tackling this loss, together, one moment at a time, one tree at a time – at more than 50,000 moments, and 50,000 trees, every year. You can help us take positive action through making a donation to Friends of Trees today! Your support helps grow our urban canopy, restore sensitive natural areas, and helps build community through planting trees – together.

     Happy Solstice to you and yours, we  look forward to longer days, the return of the sun, and more trees – join us!

Community, employment, FOT Events, jobs, Nature, Neighborhood Trees, Plant It Portland, Portland Canopy, Tree Care, Trees, Uncategorized

We’re hiring!

Love trees? Looking for meaningful work in a supportive, fun work environment? Then check out our opening for a Neighborhood Trees Specialist.

Neighborhood Trees Specialists implement community-based, neighborhood street tree planting projects in collaboration with volunteer Neighborhood Coordinators, Neighborhood Associations and other partner groups in accordance with the Friends of Trees’ mission. Ideal candidates will be personable, creative and adaptable; have a background or interest in community tree planting and care; able to juggle multiple priorities at once; and have a desire to work with diverse communities and individuals of all backgrounds.

Interested? Details here.

Community, Crew Leading, Education, FOT Events, Green Space, Health, Lifestyle, Nature, Neighborhood Trees, Trees, Volunteering

Join the Tree Team–be a Crew Leader!

“I have a few favorite things about crew leading. One, I get to interact with all kinds of different people; two, I get so many positive remarks and thank you-s for making people so happy—all because I’m wearing a colored vest that associates me with a great cause.” –Ryan, Friends of Trees Crew Leader

If you’ve planted trees with us, then you’ve met a Crew Leader. Crew Leaders are the friendly, knowledgeable folks who teach our volunteer tree-planters how to properly plant trees and use tools, and they’re your #1 go-to for help and questions at a Friends of Trees planting event.

Crew Leader is a key leadership position with Friends of Trees, and is ideal for people who love planting with Friends of Trees and who want to do a bit more. As a Crew Leader you gain valuable leadership skills and lots of tree knowledge! Plus, you get to spend a lot of time outside and you’ll meet an awesome assortment of new people.

So, ready to try something new? We train Crew Leaders every season and our fall trainings are coming up—Join us!

Clark County, Community, Health, Nature, Neighborhood Trees, Partnerships, Trees, Vancouver, Volunteering

Give More 24! Planting trees + growing community in Vancouver and Clark County, WA

It’s time for GiveMore 24!

Do you know about Give More 24? It’s a one-day, online giving marathon just for Southwest Washington, focusing on raising money for organizations that serve Vancouver and Clark County–organizations like Friends of Trees!

Give More 24 takes place on Thursday, September 20–and we can use your help to spread the word to raise some money for more trees + community in Southwest Washington.

Here’s how you can help:

THANK YOU!

PS: Any chance you’ll be in downtown Vancouver around 7:00 a.m. on September 20? There’s a Give More 24 rally in Esther Short Park at the foot of the clocktower. Yep, it’s early. Yep, there’ll be coffee & donuts. Yep, there’s a dance-a-thon at 7:24 a.m. Yep, we’ll be there (weather permitting) and we’ll have your favorite dancing-high-fiving tree, Garry Oak! Plus, our good friends at the Portland Timbers are sending Timber Joey! What a time, Join Us!