APRIL 2023: EARTH MONTH ACTION! | GET INVOLVED | WATERING
CELEBRATING COMMUNITY CLIMATE ACTION
Earth Month (and every month) is an opportunity to take action for our community. Join us.
It’s fitting that Earth Month coincides with the end of our planting season. For months, volunteers have been taking tangible action to grow our urban forest, investing their time and energy into the future health of the community. After 34 seasons of planting, we can see the payoff from Eugene to Vancouver. A natural area bustling with wildlife. A Friends of Trees yard sign next to a 20 year-old tree shading a yard and a sidewalk. A tenured crew leader passing their knowledge to a first-time planter.
Earth Day and Arbor Day are great occasions to plant trees for sure. We’re grateful to have supporters that recognize the true occasion—we need more trees and green spaces, especially in the face of climate change. Over the past seven months, we hosted more than 60 public planting events, where more than 4,000 volunteers added more than 35,000 plants and trees to the region.
Community climate action is about more than just getting plants in the ground. It’s about the connections we form to nature and to each other. It’s about forging new friendships, finding moments of inspiration, and committing to building a greener future for everyone. Thanks to everyone who joined us in taking community climate action this year!
“There are so many reasons why I volunteer with Friends of Trees. I love meeting new people. I believe in the mission of putting trees in the ground and building community—we need to plant more trees and strengthen our communities, and Friends of Trees does both.”
-Ian, volunteer Crew Leader since 2014.
Thanks to all the businesses who have supported trees + community, we have a total of $17K in business challenges. Our Earth Month goal is $25,000.Can you help us meet it?
There’s still time to celebrate the Earth this April—your support now helps us year round
Huge thanks to all of our Earth Month Sponsors for supporting trees + community! Here are ways you can participate:
CAFE YUMM! is donating 10% of all proceeds from ALL Oregon locations On Earth Day, April 22.
DESCHUTES BREWERY PORTLAND: Every Tuesday in April, Deschutes is donating $1 per pint sold to Friends of Trees throughout the day. Thanks to Deschutes for being one of our Earth Day Oregon partners this year!
ALESONG BREWING IN EUGENE: For the entire month of April, Alesong Brewing will be donating 25% of all revenue from bottle and draft sales of Rolling Mist, a farmhouse ale made with Sitka spruce tips foraged from the coast.
APRIL 26: FRIENDS OF TREES BENEFIT NIGHT AT LEVEL BEER
Level is donating 100% of proceeds from their Earth Day beer to trees + community. We’ll be on site at Level from 6-8PM. We’ll host a tree walk to tour the trees and shrubs we planted at Level this season, and we may have some trees & plants to giveaway.
Keep an eye on rain totals—and be ready to take over watering your tree!
We’ve had a wet April, which means your trees are getting plenty of water! But the transition from spring to summer can be a tricky time to determine when to water your tree. You might find yourself wondering, “when did it rain last?”
Too much watering is the most common mistake, but consistent watering is crucial to getting these young trees established. A good way to know if your tree needs water is to check the soil. Stick a garden trowel or even a pencil 2-3 inches into the soil. If the soil at that depth is dry to the touch, then your tree is ready to be watered.
Once the dry season settles in, deep watering once a week is a good schedule. Tree roots are growing 12-18″ down and just don’t get enough benefit from daily irrigation that is intended to water lawns. Learn more watering tips and techniques here.
CLACKAMAS COUNTY TREE GIVEWAY
This Saturday 4/22, we’ll be giving away trees and native plants!
Are you a Clackamas County resident? Would you like a free native plant or two?
Come visit us at Happy Valley Park (13770 SE Ridgecrest Rd, Happy Valley, OR 97086 ) Saturday 4/22 from 9:30am to 12:30 pm.
Four plants per household and first come, first served! We’ll have Buck Brush, Red Twig Dogwood, Ocean Spray, Tall Oregon Grape, Douglas Fir, Osoberry, Oregon White Oak, California Bay Laurel, Cascara, and Douglas Spirea.
Thanks to our sponsors The Arbor Day Foundation and State Farm Insurance for the plants! The giveaway is in conjunction with a volunteer stewardship event at Happy Valley Park.
THE EUGENE BRANCH
Our Eugene-Springfield Team has been celebrating Earth Month with planting events and Tree Walks – with more yet to come!
Anyone who has volunteered at a planting event in Eugene knows that our team there has a tremendous wealth of knowledge on urban trees. And there’s nothing quite like taking to the streets for a Tree Walk with them to really tap into that knowledge through conversation and real world context.
The team has two more Tree Walks this April, on Saturday 4/22 at the Friends of Trees Eugene Office, and Saturday 4/29 at Petersen Barn. Even more Tree Walks will be scheduled from May to October!
Huge thanks to the 4,000+ volunteerswho made this season our biggest since before the pandemic. We are so grateful to all the planters, crew leaders, truck drivers, and everyone who supported us this season. We couldn’t do it without you!
Here are some end-of-season events:
April 22nd – Our Annual Shade Tree Sale! If you weren’t able to get a tree from us this year, here is your chance. We source our shade trees from some of the best nurseries in the United States. We are thrilled to offer this unique opportunity to purchase high quality shade trees at a fraction of their original cost. 10am-2pm at our Portland Office.More info here.
May 6 – McKay Park Stewardship event – This NE Salem stewardship event is our very last volunteer event of the season!
Crew Leaders and Assistants—watch your inbox for Crew Leader News on the first of the month!Trained Crew Leaders sign-up for eventshere.
PGE makes it easy to support a clean energy future
Want a great way to save a little on your PGE bill, support sustainable energy and be a friend of trees? PGE has the answer with smart energy shifting programs.
What’s energy shifting? It’s an easy way to shift energy use away from times of high demand. You know, those hot summer afternoons when we all tend to use more energy to cool down. As more and more people reduce their energy use during peak times, it supports the use of more sustainable energy resources and helps keep energy reliable.
Would you like to make a difference? Joining is simple, rewarding and you’ll be helping to support a clean energy future while keeping Oregon a great place for trees. Plus, you can save a little on your energy bill. It’s a win-win-Win! Get started today.
YARD SIGNS
Show love for your tree with a Friends of Trees yard sign!
Do you have a tree from Friends of Trees in your yard or planting strip? We want to celebrate your tree and the benefits it provides with a beautiful yard sign! We want people to know how important trees are to their communities, and to see the impact that Friends of Trees and its supporters have made throughout western Oregon and southwest Washington. Visit here to learn more and get in touch.
