Category: Partnerships
Friends of Trees & Portland Urban Forestry Host First Community Planting Event of their New Partnership
Friends of Trees | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information:
Colin May: cell (503) 467-2515; [email protected]
The December 6th North Portland Planting is the first in a new collaboration between Friends of Trees and the City of Portland
Portland, Ore. – Friends of Trees will host its first community planting event as part of its new partnership with Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) Urban Forestry on Saturday December 6, 2025. Community volunteers will gather at Cesar Chavez School in North Portland before planting trees throughout North Portland neighborhoods.
This community planting event is the first of four events this season that Friends of Trees will put on in partnership with Portland Urban Forestry. The new $1.8 million partnership will plant and care for 750 trees across Portland’s most heat-vulnerable neighborhoods. This collaboration is part of the City’s Equitable Tree Canopy program funded by the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF), and reflects a shared commitment to climate resilience, community stewardship, and long-term tree health.
“It’s always exciting to put planning into action, especially when it means bringing volunteers together to plant trees,” says Friends of Trees Executive Director Yashar Vasef. “The efforts we make on a winter morning will mean more shade in these neighborhoods during future summer heat waves.”
Volunteers will plant approximately 100 street and yard trees at residents’ homes as part of this planting event. Every street tree planted through this partnership will receive three years of follow-up care. This includes watering, monitoring, and replacement if needed. Yard tree recipients will receive guidance and support from Friends of Trees to help care for their trees and support long-term success.
Friends of Trees expects about 100 community volunteers to attend (Note: volunteer event is full and registration is closed). City Councilor Sameer Kanal (District 2) plans to be in attendance as well.
- Location: Cesar Chavez School, 5103 N Willis Blvd, Portland, OR 97203
- Time: 8:45 A.M. – 1 P.M. Brief program at 9:00 am before volunteer crews disperse to planting sites.
- Neighborhoods: East Columbia, Kenton, Piedmont, Portsmouth, St Johns, and Woodlawn.
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Friends of Trees (FriendsofTrees.org)
Friends of Trees inspires people to improve the natural world around them through a simple solution: Planting Trees. Together.
Friends of Trees was founded in 1989 by a local community member who loved trees and started planting them in neighborhoods. Today, Friends of Trees is a nationally recognized, regional leader in improving the urban tree canopy and restoring sensitive natural areas—through programs delivered by thousands of volunteers. Friends of Trees has planted more than 1 million trees and native plants in 120+ neighborhoods in six counties across two states in the 36 years since its founding.
Partner Spotlight: The Blueprint Foundation
EXPANDING OUR IMPACT. TOGETHER.
Partnership is a foundational for us at Friends of Trees. We’re so grateful to our community partners who work with us to engage with the community, exchange knowledge, and expand our collective impact.
We recently connected with Curtis Young, the Executive Director of The Blueprint Foundation, which connects communities, primarily Black and underserved communities, to environmental and economic opportunities. They’re one of our historic partners and a member of our 11-member USDA grant coalition. Over the course of the five-year grant project, our coalition will work to empower disadvantaged, low-canopy neighborhoods to expand their tree canopy.
What does the USDA community forestry grant mean to the Blueprint Foundation and how will these funds impact your work?
CURTIS: The Community Forestry Grant is a transformative opportunity for the Blueprint Foundation. As a small nonprofit with a mission to connect communities, primarily Black and underserved communities, to environmental and economic opportunities, these funds will allow us to expand our impact significantly and scale our work in ways we’ve always envisioned but have not yet had the resources to achieve.
Community forestry isn’t just about planting trees—it’s about fostering environmental stewardship, creating green spaces that heal and empower communities, and providing pathways for economic growth through workforce development. This funding will enable us to deepen our programs, including our hands-on training opportunities in urban forestry, habitat restoration, and sustainable landscaping, which equip young people with the skills to pursue careers in green industries.
These funds will also allow us to engage even more communities in our work, creating spaces where people can gather, learn, and grow together.
Whether we expand tree-planting initiatives in neighborhoods that need them most or educate residents about the benefits of urban forestry, this grant will help us bring our vision of equitable, thriving communities to life.
On a broader level, this funding is a testament to the importance of organizations like ours, led by and for communities of color, in driving equitable environmental change. It allows us to build capacity, strengthen partnerships, and ensure that our impact is felt today and sustained for generations to come. We’re excited and grateful for this opportunity and eager to use these funds to create lasting, meaningful change.
What excites you about the coalition aspect of this project?
CURTIS: Being part of the coalition is an inspiring and rewarding experience. It’s exciting because it involves people and nature coming together meaningfully. Trees are vital to our lives—they clean our air, cool our neighborhoods, and bring so much beauty to our communities. Knowing that we’re working to grow and protect them, especially in partnership with others who care just as profoundly, feels incredible.
What makes it truly special is the collaboration.
When nonprofits, government agencies, and community members collaborate, they combine resources, knowledge, and passion. It’s not just about planting trees— but building relationships, creating healthier neighborhoods, and fostering a sense of pride and ownership in our shared spaces. Everyone’s voice matters, and the result is something we can all be proud of.
One of my favorite parts is the connection to the community. Trees bring people together, whether through planting events, educational programs, or simply the shared joy of walking under a canopy of leaves. You see firsthand how something as simple as a tree can transform a neighborhood—physically and emotionally. It builds hope and a sense of belonging.
And then there’s the lasting impact. You’re not just making a difference today; you’re creating something future generations will enjoy. There’s something powerful about looking at a tree you helped plant and knowing it will stand tall long after you’re gone, providing shade, clean air, and beauty for years. This work leaves a legacy, and being part of that is such a privilege.
A Million Trees, A Million Stories: Jason Stroman
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’re telling their stories! Read more here.
Nature as a refuge and a career path for Black youth
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.
“I know the healing properties of nature and I’ve seen kids not benefit from that, not have access to that.”
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.”
One of Jason’s goals is to demystify environmental activities for Black youth. Not only has that community been disconnected from nature in many ways, communities of color are disproportionately impacted by climate change and lack of environmental resources.
“One way we can do that is to get kids out in the neighborhoods where they live. We can give them the chance to do tangible work where they can go back and see it over the years and know it’s having a real impact.”
Blueprint’s very first planting with Friends of Trees was in the historically Black Mississippi neighborhood.
“There are 15 trees by the Masonic Lodge on Mississippi and Fremont. For kids to be able to see them nine years later, to see something they did and own it, understand its benefits—that makes me really proud.”
Beyond engaging kids with trees and their benefits, the program is designed to show them career paths in the green sector, industries in which people of color have had low participation historically.
“It amazes kids when they realize they can actually get paid to do this for a living,” Jason says. “And they are all brilliant. You get a tool in some of their hands for instance, and they pick up how to use it like that.”
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 has been a board member for Friends of Trees for four years. He really believes in the value of nature-based learning, giving kids opportunities outside of the classroom, and safe and affirming exposure to new experiences. Blueprint’s goal is to replicate their success with urban forestry workforce training in other high-paying STEM fields that need increased representation.
As a mentor, Jason remembers the healing power of nature he felt as a kid himself, and it was always a tool of his to take a kid outside to help them find a moment of peace.
“It’s a dream come true to be able to provide that on a larger scale.”
Below you can watch a 2021 climate justice conversation between Jason and Friends of Trees Executive Director Yashar Vasef.
A Million Trees, A Million Stories is brought to you by our Presenting Partner, Portland General Electric.
Partner Spotlight: Verde
Verde is part of the 11-member coalition for our Community Forestry Grant
We recently had the chance to connect with one of our partners about the opportunities the community forestry coalition affords. After speaking with Amandeep Sohi, Community Engagement Coordinator at Verde, it’s clear that their organization is striving to make a difference in the community.
Verde serves communities by building environmental wealth through social enterprise, outreach, and advocacy. Friends of Trees and Verde have been partners long before this coalition. In recent years, Verde helped Friends of Trees lead our first Spanish-speaking tree planting event. They also assisted in gathering volunteers and training five Latinx women to become planting crew leaders.
“When we talk about environmental wealth, we’re talking about access to green spaces and people’s ability to go into nature,” Amandeep said. “Not necessarily big, destination-parks, but also pocket parks right by our homes that we can walk to. We want to connect people to those spaces and opportunities—community gardens, naturescapes, and tree planting.”
Verde is part of the 11-member coalition led by Friends of Trees that was awarded a $12 million Urban and Community Forestry Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The grant will fund community forestry work including tree planting, natural area restoration, post-planting care, community education, opportunities for direct community input and participation, and workforce training.
Amandeep also spoke to the importance of working in these particular neighborhoods. “It’s super exciting to be working in Justice40 neighborhoods. Planting trees and native shrubs really impacts peoples lives and doing it together builds community.” The Justice40 Initiative is a goal enacted by the Biden Administration to deliver at least 40 percent of the overall investments from key federal investments to disadvantaged communities.
As for the future of the coalition, Verde is excited to work with all of the partners. “Every partner touches on different communities, different aspects of green spaces. Depave is breaking up asphalt and pavement to mitigate heat island effects. Wisdom of the Elders is bringing indigenous knowledge and ways of stewarding the land back to our communities. We’re hoping to tap into our partners’ expansive communities to reach a diverse group of participants.”
Partner Spotlight: APANO
APANO is part of our Community Forestry Grant’s 11-member coalition
For Alisa Kajikawa, it’s all about finding the balance of working toward the dream and working for the present. She’s APANO’s Community Development Manager for the Jade District, and we spoke to her about APANO’s vision for the community forestry coalition.
APANO is part of the 11-member coalition led by Friends of Trees that was awarded a $12 million Urban and Community Forestry Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The grant will fund community forestry work including tree planting, natural area restoration, post-planting care, community education, opportunities for direct community input and participation, and workforce training.
APANO unites Asians and Pacific Islanders to build power, develop leaders, and advance equity through organizing, advocacy, community development and cultural work. Their coalition work will be geared toward education and outreach, workforce development, and community infrastructure.
“We can’t grow canopy overnight,” Alisa says. “What can we do now that will still help alleviate pollution and heat in our community?”
For APANO, it means a few things, like working with businesses in the Jade district to host planter boxes filled with native plants. It means hosting community workshops on environmental justice and heat impacts. And it means thinking big picture about creating a transportation system that doesn’t rely on cars.
Alisa is excited about all the possibilities that the coalition can bring.