News from Friends of Trees

September 2020

NOW is the time to get a tree

Tree lovers, we need your help! Not only have our community tree planting events changed quite a bit due to COVID, health & safety measures mean we have very limited ability to visit communities and help neighbors get a tree of their own.

Normally we reach thousands of potential tree recipients with door-to-door canvassers and through tabling at community events – things we just can’t do this season.

Less interpersonal interaction means we won’t reach enough households about getting trees planted. And reaching fewer households means that, without your help, our neighborhoods will have far fewer new trees – and we need trees more than ever!

Here’s how you can help:

Get a tree planted at your home. If you’ve been thinking about getting a tree, now’s the time.
Talk to your neighbors about getting a tree. How many tree-less front yards are on your street? How about tree-less planting strips? (the area between the sidewalk and street). Visit your neighbors (masked, of course 😉 and help spread the good word about trees through forwarding this email or sharing this link.

Getting a tree with Friends of Trees is easy, informative, and affordable!

The cost to you for a tree is a very affordable $35. Considering that tree would sell in a nursery for much more, plus when it’s from Friends of Trees you get delivery, a hole dug, expert planters, and post-planting support, it’s a great deal!
We have a sliding scale available if $35 is too much – name your price! And if you can afford more than $35 anything extra will go to our tree scholarship fund.
Your tree can be FREE if need be, thanks to our tree scholarship fund (donate to the tree scholarship fund here!)

Check out how easy it is to get a tree, and our wide variety of trees, here.

Questions? Email or call the Tree Team at (503)595-0212. We can’t wait to introduce you to your new tree!

Please note that this information applies to the Portland Metro area; for information about getting a tree in our Eugene service area please contact our Eugene office.

Get to Know Volunteering during COVID

Things are hard, but we can do hard things. – Carey, Tree Team member

It won’t be a surprise to learn that the volunteer experience with Friends of Trees will be quite a bit different this season. When we start our 32nd season of community tree planting in October, the CDC’s COVID guidelines will serve as the minimum in terms of our events’ health and safety practices, because our number one goal is everyone’s safety.

Masks will be required at all times, for everyone, no exceptions; and yes, physical distancing of at least six feet from other volunteers (not in your household) will also be required. For all information related to volunteering with us in the time of COVID please refer to the COVID FAQ page of our website.

Plan ahead. These are perhaps the most important words to live by this season. In addition to following all health & safety requirements, planning ahead will help ensure safe, smooth and fun volunteer events. Questions? Email is preferred to phone calls since we’re mainly working remotely, thanks for your understanding!

Top 3 things to know about this season’s volunteer experience:

Pre-registration for all events is required. This is where planning ahead really makes a difference, because capacity limitations means our events will fill up quickly. In fact, ALL of our October Green Space events are already filled, so check out the events calendar and register now!
No group registrations. You can still volunteer with a group, but each member of the group needs to register separately, and we won’t be able to hold spaces. Again, planning!
No public registration for Neighborhood Trees events. This is such a tough one. So many of the things that make our Neighborhood Trees volunteer events so special – zany, crowded morning registration; carpooling to sites with friends old and new; working side by side to get that huge tree into the planting hole; the incredible potluck lunch afterward – all violate COVID best practices. We just couldn’t see how to make all this happen in a way that is safe and effective, so until further notice only trained Crew Leaders will be able to volunteer to plant street and yard trees. If you really want to plant street and yard trees in local neighborhoods this season, please register for our online Crew Leader training, which will be available October 17-24. Yep, plan ahead!

We thank you in advance for following the guidelines, and for your understanding and patience. We’d love your feedback! We want to know how you are doing and how your volunteer experience was, so send us a note any time. Need information about volunteering in the Eugene area? Read on to the next story.

The good news is that we are still planting trees together and it will still be fun! Join us.

THE EUGENE BRANCH

News from Friends of Trees Eugene

Volunteering in Eugene during COVID

Friends of Trees Eugene events are adapting to be safe during COVID, and we’re prepared to change rapidly as needed by the situation. Here’s what to expect when you volunteer to plant trees with Friends of Tree Eugene this season:

Pre-registration is a must. Our events will be limited to roughly 30 volunteers at the most, which is well below the Lane County maximum group size of 50 for indoor events/100 for outdoor events, and less than the size our events usually are. This could change if guidelines change.
Masks are required by all volunteers at all times.
Physical distancing of at least 6 feet from people not in your household is required.
All of our events will be 100% outside, we will no longer meet indoors for any of our events. We’ll meet in school parking lots, etc.
Planting crew sizes will be reduced from teams of 8-10 people down to 4-5 people, again unless guidelines or severity of COVID changes.
We will have as many bike crews as possible since carpooling will only be possible with folks from the same household. Please do not arrive at our office needing a ride to or from an event, we just won’t be able to do that in a safe way. We cannot provide any transportation.
Our pruning events are in teams of just 1 or 2 volunteers.
We will no longer feature shared food at potlucks. Please bring your own water bottle.
Please bring your own gloves and shovels if you have them.

Friends of Trees Eugene’s tree planting season begins in November and we will update our practices and procedures as necessary to meet all COVID regulations. We will still plant trees together, and we’ll do so safely. Check out our events calendar and join us, we can’t wait to plant trees with you again!

Become a Friends of Trees Crew Leader and help plant nature’s best air filters!

Oregon has lost more than 1 million acres of trees to fire this summer. Let’s do something about it! Together. Register now for our October online training and help our state heal by planting trees with Friends of Trees!

Our free training will explain everything you need to know about how to plant trees in an urban environment – no previous planting experience necessary! The training also covers our COVID-19 safety protocols and explains why it is important for all communities to have access to the benefits of trees.

Once you have completed the training, we ask that you commit to at least four planting events of your choice, November – April. Register here to become part of our Tree Team community! Training is free, but space is limited!

GET INVOLVED

It’s almost tree planting season!

Remember: Pre-registration for all events is required. ALL of our October Green Space events in the Portland Metro region are already filled, so check out the events calendar and register now!
Interested in planting street & yard trees with Neighborhood Trees in the Portland Metro region? If so you must be a trained NT crew leader, get trained here.
Get artsy and listen to some tree-people talk about trees: “My Favorite Things” at Elisabeth Jones Art Center is a portrait/interview project featuring local tree people, including our own Whitney Dorer! There will also be tree art; Oct. 1 – Nov. 5, learn more here.

We can’t wait to see you again! And to make a difference through planting trees, together.