OCT 2024: EQUITY WORK IN EUGENE | COMMUNITY ACTION UPDATES | GIVE!GUIDE
PLANTING & PRUNING WHERE ITS NEEDED MOST
Building on a foundation of equity work in Eugene & Springfield
One of the great things about kicking the season off with pruning events is that you get to see the progress of trees planted in years past, and it provides a renewed vision of how each new tree will grow and provide benefits to the community.
“We were pruning trees in a neighborhood north of downtown Springfield,” says Eugene Director Erik Burke, “and it’s really satisfying to see street trees in almost every available spot, spots that were empty of trees a few years ago.”
The trees that volunteers pruned had already been pruned once, but thanks to funding from the Inflation Reduction Act grant, we were able to prune them again. Caring for trees is just as important as planting them, especially when it comes to addressing areas in need of trees.
“We’ve always planted with equity in mind. There are so many places that need trees and there’s still so much work to be done.”
-Eugene-Springfield Program Manager Taylor Glass.
Planting season is just around the corner, and the IRA grant is funding much of this season’s planting in West Eugene and Springfield.
“When you go to certain areas and you only see one or two trees on a block, you can feel it,” Erik says. “It feels good to plant trees in those places.”
Our $12 million IRA grant is funding community tree equity work in Portland, Gresham, Eugene, and Springfield
We believe everyone deserves to experience the benefits of trees in urban landscapes. Trees and green spaces keep neighborhoods cool, support pollinators and ecosystem services, and even bolster mental health and well-being. Yet despite these benefits, tree canopy isn’t equitably distributed across communities, dividing most cities into high- and low-canopy neighborhoods. Low-canopy neighborhoods are often home to historically disadvantaged communities, who now bear the brunt of climate impacts when extreme weather strikes.
Last year, an 11-member coalition led by Friends of Trees 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). Over the course of the five-year grant, our coalition will work to empower disadvantaged, low-canopy neighborhoods to expand their tree canopy by participating in urban forest planning processes, creating culturally-relevant educational and knowledge-exchange opportunities, and hosting community planting and tree care events.
Launching a project of this size is no simple task, and the coalition has been hard at work thoughtfully creating strategies and collaboratively planning activities to make this work a reality. To support planning and implementing our collaborative community engagement efforts, we’ve added a Community Coordinator to the team—Sia Hanna!
“For me, community engagement is all about commitment and relationship,” Sia says.
“It’s a commitment to working alongside community members in our collective efforts to improve well-being and vibrancy within and between people and the places we call home.”
Now, we move into planting season, and our coalition project is a huge part of it. You can join us for one of two volunteer planting events on Saturday, November 23rd, at Wilkes Creek Headwaters in NE Portland and in Gresham neighborhoods.
Read more here.Funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service. Friends of Trees is an equal opportunity provider.
GET INVOLVED
Help us reach our 1 millionth tree this planting season!
We have such awesome planting events for you this season! Whether it’s in a neighborhood or natural area, we would love your help building community with trees and native plants. It’s a great way to take climate action, and as a volunteer named Caela puts it, planting trees is the “best reason in the world to wear rubber pants and play in the mud!”
Here are some upcoming volunteer events:
November 9, Neighborhood planting, NE Vancouver (11:45am start)
November 23, Natural area planting, Wapato Lake NWR, Gaston
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.
GIVE!GUIDE
Willamette Week’s Give!Guide begins on November 1st! Stay tuned to our social media channels for Big Give Days, special events, and more. The first Big Give Day—on November 1st—you can win tickets to see Billie Eilish!
With your gift, however large or small, Friends of Trees is on its way toward hitting a $70k goal for the Give!Guide by year’s end. Your support will not only help us reach the milestone of 1 million trees and native plants, it’ll get us started on the next million! All planted by and for the community.
We’d love it if you also supported our partners: APANO, Depave, The Blueprint Foundation, Columbia Slough Watershed Council, Wisdom of the Elders, and POIC. And thanks to our business sponsorsRanch PizzaandLevel Beer!
A million trees*! This season Friends of Trees celebrates planting a million trees *and native shrubs with more than 75,000 community volunteers since 1989.
Think about the difference those trees and natural areas make in our lives; think about all of those volunteers, getting up on countless Saturday mornings over the past 36 years. That’s why we’re celebrating with tree walks, tree talks, and special events!
Part of our Millionth Tree season is reflecting on our rich history and the impact we’ve made together. We want to celebrate our past as we look toward the future. That’s where you all come in. Your stories are part of our community’s history.
We want to hear your Friends of Trees story!
Whether its a funny anecdote, a lovely little memory, or a longer tale, your stories will help us celebrate our Millionth Tree season! Your submission could make it into a Treemail story or a social media post! Have a story? Fill out this simple form.
Our first bilingual planting ~ El Primer Evento Bilingüe de Plantar árboles de Friends of Trees | Get to know our partner: Sandy River Watershed Council
