Friends of Trees

January 2021: Tree care + equity | Get to know our pruning program

TREEMAIL: News from Friends of Trees

Tree Care + Equity

TREE CARE PLAYS A ROLE IN TREES’ AFFORDABILITY

As a Friends of Trees supporter and a friend of trees yourself, you’re probably attuned to the benefits of trees environmentally, socially, mentally, and more. However, less people are aware of how tree canopy is distributed among a city and its neighborhoods.

A trend across the country in large cities is that trees, and the benefits they bring, are distributed inequitably across neighborhoods based on race and income.

Higher income neighborhoods with majority white residents have over 75% tree canopy coverage as compared to lower-income neighborhoods with around 15-30% canopy cover.

These are large discrepancies that result in hotter environments, more air pollution, and factors contributing to respiratory conditions like asthma for children.

These trends are reality here in Portland: west Portland (excluding Forest Park) has about 75% canopy cover in most neighborhoods, while east Portland neighborhoods average about 15-30% canopy cover. Friends of Trees prioritizes planting street and yard trees in neighborhoods on the eastside of Portland to help decrease this disparity.

However, many people are wary about – if not outright opposed to – getting a tree of their own because of the costs of tree care, which can increase as a tree grows. This is just one of the reasons Friends of Trees provides tree care along with tree planting, including proper pruning of young trees at no cost to the property owner (read more about pruning trees in the next story). And we’re exploring ways to increase the availability of low to no cost tree care for folks who need it, because we know the benefits of trees far outweigh the costs.

Photo: Street tree planting in east Portland, January 2020.

Get to Know our Pruning Program

WE’RE PRUNING 2,000 TREES THIS SEASON

Pruning trees contributes to a more equitable community. Or, more accurately, pruning trees at no cost contributes to a more equitable, livable community.

How? We’ve learned that a major barrier to many households getting a street tree is the cost of maintaining the tree. Pruning can be very expensive, and it gets more expensive as the tree ages and grows if problems are not addressed early.

Properly pruning a tree when young is an excellent investment and can delay or even prevent future expenses, making a tree more affordable.

Pruning young trees at no cost by trained Friends of Trees volunteers is one important way to help get more trees into more neighborhoods, especially under-served, low-income communities which are often communities of color impacted by systemic disparities. That is exactly why Friends of Trees is focusing efforts on specifically those communities who will benefit the most.

Our pruning program also benefits youth. While we are pruning trees we are also training young people to prune. Through partnerships with organizations like Rosemary Anderson HS POIC, student interns in our pruning program earn an hourly stipend while building valuable job skills. Read more

Photo: Youth interns from Rosemary Anderson High School/POIC, August 2020.

The Eugene Branch

NEWS FROM FRIENDS OF TREES EUGENE

Trees, tree care & equity

Friends of Trees strives to plant and care for trees in a way that is equitable and inclusive. For Friends of Trees Eugene that means updating our processes and working with our partners to reach parts of town that are underserved and more diverse.

Early in our history (when we were still the Eugene Tree Foundation) tree plantings focused in the downtown core and in south Eugene where volunteers lived. When we became Friends of Trees in 2009, we immediately expanded our service area to Springfield and underserved parts of Eugene, beginning with three 2010 plantings in Trainsong, a historically underserved neighborhood.

In the past, trees weren’t necessarily planted where they were needed most – in underserved neighborhoods.

In recent years the process was improved to include an equity lens in order to diversify planting locations. As a result West Eugene, which is more diverse than other neighborhoods and historically underserved, has become a priority location for new street trees in Eugene. We also prioritize planting trees in Springfield, which, like West Eugene, is more diverse and historically underserved.

Friends of Trees Eugene’s Pruning Program also strives to deliver valuable tree care services in an equitable fashion, again, prioritizing West Eugene until it’s “caught up” in terms of trees pruned. Read more

Look for Eugene volunteer opportunities here, and donate to Friends of Trees Eugene here – all donations from addresses in Lane County support FOTE. Thank you!

Photo: One of our first planting events in the Trainsong neighborhood, 2010.

Get Involved

Though we can’t plant together right now, you can still get involved!

Stay connected through social media. We’d love to see your photos of newly planted Friends of Trees’ trees in your neighborhood, or you sporting your FOT shirt on a walk or with your favorite tree in your neighborhood!

Donate today to help ensure trees + community are in our future.

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Friends of Trees inspires people to improve the natural

world around them through a simple solution:

Planting Trees. Together.

(503) 282-8846: Portland office

(541) 632-3683: Eugene office

friendsoftrees.org

friendsoftrees.org/eugene

Learn more about how Friends of Trees greens our region + grows community through checking out other issues of Treemail here.