FEBRUARY 2024: SPRING | CLIMATE ACTION | PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

SPRING IS COMING! OR IS IT HERE?

The Eugene Team shares their favorite signs of spring

“Many buds are starting to swell,” Erik Burke says when asked when spring will arrive. “Witch-hazel, Persian ironwood and osoberry are all insect-pollinated woody plants that are blooming. Spring is here.”

The Eugene Director has always noted that the seasons aren’t evenly distributed in Western Oregon and Southwest Washington. “We have a short autumn, a relatively short winter, and long springs and summers. January is our coldest month, and while February can be cold, spring typically begins early in the month.”

Meteorologists observe March 1st as the first day of spring. Our calendars say March 19th, the vernal equinox, when the days finally begin to be longer than the nights. But plants are on their own schedule.

“It’s a gradual roll out,” Erik says. We’ll see camas come out of the ground in December or early January as the incense cedar starts blooming. Filberts pollinate in January, and in February, we’re seeing willows leafing out, and daffodils and cottonwoods blooming.

Some ecologists point to osoberry blooming as the first sign of spring, because it’s the first native insect-pollinated woody plant to bloom, and blooms with or just after the introduced witch-hazel and Persian ironwood.

“I love when the forest edges are covered in osoberry blooms,” says Taylor, our Eugene-Springfield Program Manager.

Our early spring allows for most trees and plants to wrap up their reproductive processes by May, ahead of our annual summer drought. Until then, we get to enjoy the kaleidoscope of blooms in our canopy, across our hillsides, and in our own yards and gardens.

Read more here.

JOIN US IN CLIMATE ACTION

Volunteers needed for an important heat island planting

On March 16th, Friends of Trees and Multnomah County are hosting a tree planting event in East Multnomah County neighborhoods. The 72 trees planted at this event will serve as a memorial to the 72 lives lost in Multnomah County due to heat in 2021.

We’re looking for volunteers to help plant trees that will shade these low-canopy neighborhoods, particularly areas identified as heat islands, eventually helping to lower ambient temperatures. If you live in Gresham, you can sign up for a street tree at your home!

Sign up at our event calendar to join us on March 16th for a day of climate justice and community.

GET INVOLVED

It’s our 35th season of planting and caring for trees – JOIN US!

We have so many more opportunities to join us in climate action this season! Whether it’s in a neighborhood or natural area, we would love your help building community with trees and native plants. As a volunteer named Caela puts it, planting is the “best reason in the world to wear rubber pants and play in the mud!”

Here are some upcoming opportunities to get involved:

• March 1, Natural area planting, Columbia Slough Natural Area, Portland
• March 2, Natural area planting, Village Green Park, Happy Valley
• March 9, Natural area planting, Arrowhead Creek Park, Wilsonville
• March 23, Neighborhood planting, NE Vancouver

General volunteers: register here for Portland Metro area events, and check out the Eugene event calendar here. We can’t wait to plant trees with you!

Crew Leaders and Assistants—watch your inbox for Crew Leader News on the first of the month! Trained Crew Leaders sign-up for events here.

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: POIC

POIC is part of our IRA Community Forestry Grant’s 11-member coalition

On a sunny Saturday morning at Gateway Green Park, volunteers gathered to plant native plants on the wooded hillside of the park. Many of the volunteer crews were led by quiet but capable young folks from POIC.

Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center (POIC) connects high school youth with career training, including partnering with Friends of Trees. POIC students train as crew leaders and lead Friends of Trees plantings throughout the season. Gateway Green was this cohort’s fifth event overall this season, and second as crew leaders.

“They’re a really committed group,” says Leigh Rappaport, Program Manager for POIC’s Natural Resource Pathway. “They care about what they’re doing and are thoughtful about making sure volunteers are having a good time.”

POIC 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 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act grants. 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.

Part of the grant will help fund POIC’s natural resource training for five years. Leigh looks forward to all of the partnerships that will grow out of this expansive and collaborative project.

“We’re excited to be part of a coalition being built from the ground up.”

Read more here.

SIP FOR TREES!

Our friends at Straightaway Cocktails are raising money for trees + community through the sale of a limited-run canned cocktail, Cascade Spritz. You can order some online, stop by their taproom, or swing into your local New Seasons to get your hands on some today!

Learn more and order here.

GET A TREE | DONATE | VOLUNTEER

The #FriendsofTreesWay is planting trees—and so much more!

(503) 282-8846: Portland office

(541) 632-3683: Eugene office

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