MAY 2024: 30K TREES & NATIVE PLANTS THIS SEASON!| WATERING TIPS
THANK YOU FOR ANOTHER SEASON OF CONNECTION
We’ve planted almost a million trees & native plants in 35 seasons!
April isn’t just Earth Month. It also marks the end of our planting season. So many reasons to celebrate! We engaged thousands of volunteers at 79 planting and stewardship events from Eugene to Vancouver. Together, we planted 30,000 trees and native plants!
This brings our historical total to 975,000. That’s right, next year we’ll plant our millionth tree*! A million trees and native shrubs create a community forest, built with the passionate hands of community members like you.
Next season, we’ll be celebrating our MILLIONTH TREE*—and the 999,999 that came before it!
* and native shrubs! A healthy urban forest is not complete without natural areas filled with native plants. These green spaces provide habitat to wildlife, clean our water, and provide opportunities for people to connect with nature.
For Earth Month this year, we dug into what it means to grow a community forest. How it means protecting what we already have, taking actions now for the future, and connecting with each other along the way, because a healthy community and healthy trees create a positive feedback loop.
We saw how much you all care about community, trees, and green spaces, because you really showed up this Earth Month! You showed up to our planting and stewardship events, you engaged with our storytelling, and you more than matched our fundraising challenge.
Thanks to a generous $50,000 challenge from an anonymous donor, Friends of Trees raised $118,000 this April, our biggest Earth Month ever. That support means more trees planted, more natural areas enhanced, and more community members taking climate action. When we exceed our goals, you win. Thank you for your incredible support.
THE EUGENE BRANCH
Celebrating another season of success in Eugene & Springfield
As spring turns to summer, our Eugene Branch have hit their season goals for planting trees in Eugene and Springfield and are pivoting to their watering program. Still, there’s time to reflect on the hard work of volunteers to reach those goals. Some of the goals are quantitative: This year we planted 444 trees in Eugene and Springfield at 13 events, alongside 454 volunteers. We also distributed 1,865 yard trees and 700 native plants at giveaway events.
Those numbers are certainly worth celebrating! But of course there’s more to a planting season than just numbers. Like the enthusiasm for planting by bike. We had four bike teams at our March planting event with our partners at Hummingbird Wholesale and PeaceHealth Rides! Or the ice cream provided by Oregon Ice Cream Co. to all of our Earth Month events. Eugene Director Erik Burke has never had so many popsicles, and he wasn’t the only one delighted to pair a productive planting day with an icy treat.
On Earth Day itself, we had a workday on Oregon Department of Transportation land alongside Amazon Creek in West Eugene. Volunteers from Mountain Rose Herbs weeded and mulched an area that has benefited from 13 years of planting.
“This is helping create a green corridor from the West Eugene wetlands toward the center of town,” Erik says. “Working to connect habitats like this is really powerful.”
That spirit of connection is what magnifies our work beyond just planting trees and native plants. Just like we’re connecting habitat, we’re connecting people who care about trees and community in Eugene and Springfield. Stay connected this summer by following our social feeds and looking for us at neighborhood picnics!
WATERING TIPS
We’re seeing some gorgeous sunny spring days recently, which means…it’s time to start watering your young trees! A newly planted tree needs at least 15-20 gallons of water each week from roughly now until mid-October for the first three years in the ground to ensure that they thrive going forward. Providing one deep watering over the entire root system per week is recommended – as if it experiences a good rain shower weekly.
During extended periods of heat (more than two days over 90 degrees), planning to give your tree another 10-15 gallons in the middle of your weekly routine, will help your tree deal with stress resulting from the hot and dry conditions.
There are a number of different ways to make watering easier. You can easily construct your own 5-gallon bucket drip system or purchase a 15-gallon slow-release watering bag (such as a gator bag) online. Finally, you can let your hose trickle for 20-30 minutes.
This historic grant coalition will have a name soon!
Organizing a coalition with 11 member organizations is no easy feat. That’s why it’s so important to take a thoughtful, intentional approach to working together. Our new coalition includes APANO, Black Parent Initiative, City of Gresham, City of Portland, Columbia Slough Watershed Council, Connecting Canopies, Depave, POIC, Verde, and Wisdom of the Elders.
Last year, this coalition was awarded a$12 million Urban and Community Forestry Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) grants. Together, we’ll be engaging low-canopy communities in tree planting, natural area restoration, post-planting care, community education, opportunities for direct community input and participation, and workforce training.
Since the award was announced, we’ve been working together to finalize our budget, understand the breadth and depth of the project, and create a culture of teamwork. We met for the first time in person at Leach Botanical Garden, a perfect setting for collaboration.
We’re making great progress and are eager to get the project underway. Last month, we officially signed our grant agreement with the U.S. Forest Service, a milestone with for a grant of this scope. We’ll keep you posted with updates on our progress, and our name!
Native long-horned bee on an aster (photo by Matthew Shepherd of the Xerces Society)
GET INVOLVED!
We’ll kick off our 36th planting season in October. Until then, there are still plenty of ways to stay involved with Friends of Trees and our partners.
POLLINATOR WORKSHOPS
Washington County ~ June 17th & 18th
Join Friends of Trees and our partners to celebrate National Pollinators Week this June! We are hosting two free community workshops to learn together about local pollinators, how to steward healthy pollinator habitats, and get a chance to see these awesome flora and fauna in action. Learn about pollinators and witness their habitat in Washington County. Details on our events page.
COLUMBIA SLOUGH EVENTS
Join our partner, Columbia Slough Watershed Council, for free paddling excursions, community festivals, habitat restoration events, and more. There are plenty of ways to connect with the Columbia Slough. Details on their website.
Our first bilingual planting ~ El Primer Evento Bilingüe de Plantar árboles de Friends of Trees | Get to know our partner: Sandy River Watershed Council
