Community, planting trees, Portland Canopy, Right Tree Right Place, Trees, urban trees

NOW is the time to get a tree

 

Tree lovers, we need your help! Not only have our community tree planting events changed quite a bit due to COVID, health & safety measures mean we have very limited ability to visit communities and help neighbors get a tree of their own.

Normally we reach thousands of potential tree recipients with door-to-door canvassers and through tabling at community events – things we just can’t do this season.

Less interpersonal interaction means we won’t reach enough households about getting trees planted. And reaching fewer households means that, without your help, our neighborhoods will have far fewer new trees – and we need trees more than ever!

Here’s how you can help:

  • Get a tree planted at your home. If you’ve been thinking about getting a tree, now’s the time.
  • Talk to your neighbors about getting a tree. How many tree-less front yards are on your street? How about tree-less planting strips? (the area between the sidewalk and street). Visit your neighbors (masked, of course 😉 and help spread the good word about trees through forwarding this email or sharing this link.

Getting a tree with Friends of Trees is easy, informative, and affordable!

  • The cost to you for a tree is a very affordable $35. Considering that tree would sell in a nursery for much more, plus when it’s from Friends of Trees you get delivery, a hole dug, expert planters, and post-planting support, it’s a great deal!
  • We have a sliding scale available if $35 is too much – name your price! And if you can afford more than $35 anything extra will go to our tree scholarship fund.
  • Your tree can be FREE if need be, thanks to our tree scholarship fund (donate to the tree scholarship fund here!)

Check out how easy it is to get a tree, and our wide variety of trees, here.

Questions? Email or call the Tree Team at (503)595-0212. We can’t wait to introduce you to your new tree!

Please note that this information applies to the Portland Metro area; for information about getting a tree in our Eugene service area please contact our Eugene office.

This information was featured in the September 2020 edition of Treemail, our monthly e-news; read the whole issue here, and catch up on other Treemail issues here.

Business Support, Community, Natural Areas, Partnerships, PGE, Portland General Electric, Right Tree Right Place, Street trees, Trees, urban trees, Volunteering

Get to know our partner: Portland General Electric

PGE CEO Maria Pope at FOT’s April planting event in Tualatin.

PGE has supported Friends of Trees since our beginning, contributing time and funding toward our shared goals of greening our region and building community.

As Friends of Trees has grown, PGE’s support has grown. PGE has sponsored hundreds of tree planting events over the past three decades, and its employees have donated hundreds of volunteer hours. And in honor of 30 years of trees + community PGE has announced a special gift that will help Friends of Trees reach the milestone of one million trees planted since our inception.

“To celebrate Friends of Trees’ significant impact on our beautiful state, we’re investing $100,000 and volunteer power, over the next five years, coming together with the community and our customers to reduce carbon, strengthen neighborhoods and improve our environment.” -Kregg Arntson, PGE’s director of Corporate Social Responsibility

In addition to donating time and money, PGE partners with Friends of Trees to plant the right type of tree in the right place. This helps prevent tree-related power outages, contributing to safe, reliable power for customers.

Friends of Trees cannot plant 50,000+ trees and native shrubs every year without the support of sponsors like PGE. Their support, since our founding, has been key in our ability to plant 800,000 trees and native shrubs to date with tens of thousands of volunteers. We are just thrilled that PGE’s $100,000 pledge will help us get to the incredible milestone of one million trees planted.

 

This story is from the Summer 2019 edition of our e-news, Treemail; check out the rest of Treemail here.

Community, FOT Events, Nature, Neighborhood Trees, Partnerships, planting trees, Right Tree Right Place, Street trees, Trees, Vancouver, Volunteering

Get to know our partner: the City of Vancouver

“Friends of Trees does more than simply plant a tree at a Vancouver resident’s house. They plant the right tree, the right way, in the right location.” -Charles Ray, City of Vancouver Urban Forester

For 16 years Friends of Trees has been planting the right trees, the right way, for Vancouver residents in partnership with the City of Vancouver. Currently more than 500 trees are planted every year here, thanks to the help of hundreds of community volunteers.

Vancouver’s Urban Forester, Charles Ray, reflects on this long-lasting, impactful partnership, and the important role trees play in the community,

“Vancouver has a long history with trees and considers trees community assets that provide multiple benefits, including clean water. The simple truth is trees in the community have practical, quantifiable values and are not merely decorations. They provide essential benefits that we cannot live without.

“We are fortunate to have an organization like Friends of Trees that shares the same mission and helps us accomplish more. Most municipal programs across the country dream of having an opportunity such as this. Friends of Trees does more than simply plant a tree at a Vancouver resident’s house. They plant the right tree, the right way, in the right location.

“Friends of Trees engages that person several times through the process, enabling staff and volunteers to share the benefits of trees and educate them about the City’s processes and requirements around trees. It also offers them an opportunity to engage hands-on with the community asset, the tree that will be planted in front of their house. This often leads to stronger community connections and civic involvement, and knowledge of the benefits, how to care for and needs of the urban forest.

“Planting the right tree in the right place and giving it the right care and pruning make all the difference to ensuring a healthy urban forest today and for generations to come. It only takes a minute to improperly prune or remove a tree but a lifetime to grow one.

“We cannot do it alone. I am excited by Friends of Trees’ commitment to Vancouver and the community’s efforts to meet this need. If I could ask for one thing it would be participation from the business community to sponsor plantings so that we can increase our annual planting goals with Friends of Trees.”

Charles, we couldn’t say it better ourselves; Vancouver businesses, join us!

Pictured above: Far left, Jessica George, City of Vancouver; standing, third from left, UF Program intern Bruce

This is from the April 2019 edition of our e-news, Treemail; check out that issue of Treemail, and others, here.