Business Support

Get To Know Honl Tree Care

A tree care company from a former Friends of Trees staff member!

Why is Honl Tree Care one of our favorite arborist partners? We go way back! Its founder, Chad Honl, was a Friends of Trees volunteer, then a Friends of Trees staff member managing our Neighborhood Trees program from 2000-2005. In fact, Chad was the very first ISA Certified Arborist on staff (now we have seven!).

“Friends of Trees really set me up,” Chad says. “I received so much guidance, and I’m thankful for all the volunteers that educated me.”

Chad’s contributions at Friends of Trees certainly helped us reach our 1,000,000 tree and native shrub milestone. The team was planting over 2000 trees each season while he was there. But his legacy goes beyond numbers. He also helped increase survival rates and worked with Portland Urban Forestry to expand the approved street tree list.

Chad left Friends of Trees to pursue a teaching career, but he found his way back to trees. What started as Chad doing tree care work with his wife’s pickup truck turned into Honl Tree Care in 2009. Now, Chad has a staff of nine certified arborists specializing in care and pruning. Quality tree care is so important for the health of our community forest, especially with environmental challenges like climate change and ice storms.

“Friends of Trees has created so many connections that have helped me grow my business,” Chad says. “And I could have grown more, but decided to focus on quality over quantity.”

“Chad has such an incredible legacy at Friends of Trees, and he continues to be an important part of the tree care community in Portland,” says Friends of Trees Executive Director Yashar Vasef. “We’re so grateful for his support and to call him a friend.”

Chad remains connected to Friends of Trees, and supported our Millionth Tree campaign as one of our partners. He loves trees, and he loves the connections people make while planting them.

“Friends of trees had made such a great impact,” Chad says. “You’ll find such good people and so much inspiration.”

Learn more about Honl Tree Care here.

Million Trees

One Million Reasons To Celebrate

SUNDAY, APRIL 27, 2025

One million trees—we did it! And you all sure showed up to celebrate with us. We were joined by so many friends. People who first planted with us decades ago. A couple who went on a tree walk last week. There were crew leaders who had been to dozens of events, or in one case, over 500. There were community partners and past interns and workforce training graduates—a true community came together to celebrate what we accomplished. Together. It was an honor to feel the love. People love Friends of Trees! And we love them back.

   

The millionth tree party felt very true to Friends of Trees! We were joined by 200 supporters, most of them devoted volunteers who helped us reach this awesome milestone. Lewi Longmire played music from the back of one of our pickup trucks while folks sipped Level Beer’s new One Million Trees Pilsner and hung out among the trees in our lot, laughing over memories of their time with Friends of Trees. It’s always been about trees, but it’s always been about friends, too.

   

It felt like a neighborhood planting event—and it was! Instead of a Saturday morning, it was a Sunday afternoon. Instead of 100 trees, we were planting just one: our monumental millionth tree, a silverleaf oak, a climate resilient tree picked to shade the community members when they use the bus stop by our office. There was an air of reverence around the tree even before we planted it, an eager anticipation, like we were sending an astronaut into space for the first time.

   

   

We used a pickup truck for a stage—how fitting is that! After an hour of food, fun, and moments of reconnection, we all gathered around to commemorate the moment. Everyone held a collective excitement, anticipating the moment when we’d reach 1 million trees and native plants. In some ways, it’s just a number. But it’s a gargantuan one, and it puts into perspective the magnitude of the accomplishment and impact we’ve made since 1989.

“How did we get here? Through the power of 75,000 community volunteers. It’s great to see so many familiar faces here today. I’m just elated that we’re at this milestone. Our mission is to build community through tree planting, and the community part is so important. This is what makes the magic happen, and I’m feeling it today.” – Yashar, Friends of Trees Executive Director.

When Richard Seidman founded Friends of Trees in 1989, he never could have imagined that we’d reach the milestone of one million trees and native plants. We were honored to have him join us at our millionth tree planting and celebration last month, and he added a true sense of history to the proceedings. “I gathered a number of people, some of whom had had trees cut down on their block, as a way to channel their grief into something positive,” Richard said of the very first trees we planted.

“I’m just so grateful for everybody who has participated from the beginning and over the years, so intrepidly,” Richard said in his remarks to the crowd. “It’s just a joy. Who knew something like this would happen?”

When it came time to celebrate and plant the millionth tree, there was a palpable feeling of accomplishment in the air. Cheers erupted as two of our staff, Christine and Kaitie, carried the tree through the crowd to the planting location.

Everyone gathered around while our Yashar, Maria, Toshio and his daughter Stella planted the tree. Toshio was the Chair of the Friends of Trees Board. His connection with the board began when he was an intern over a decade ago, a fitting reminder of how connections can last through the years.

   

Introducing one of our amazing crew leaders, Yashar spoke to the amazingness of volunteerism: “We could not get to a million without you showing up all those Saturday mornings. And your energy is infectious.”

“When I think about the phenomenal accomplishment of planting one million trees, my immediate next thought is the collaborative way that Friends of Trees plants means that there have been one million trees, and then millions of smiles. Millions of moments of people feeling empowered. Of dirty hands. Of connections that would not have been formed otherwise.”

-Shay Snyder, Crew Leader

Shay is such a star. At planting events, whenever Shay’s crew finishes planting a tree, they encourage the whole crew to do a tree dance in celebration. They took it to the next level and led the Tree Dance after we planted our Millionth Tree! After the tree was planted, so many people looked at it close up, took pictures with it, and celebrated the moment.

The magic of trees is that planting them is just the beginning. They’ll grow and provide their benefits for decades. We’ll get to know them and care for them, just like we get to know and care for our community. At Friends of Trees, we’re hopeful that one million trees and native plants is just the beginning. Like the trees—and you all—we’ll keep showing up.

NEWS COVERAGE

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

This is an amazing opportunity to consider a special gift to Friends of Trees. Given the increasing severity of the impacts of climate change, getting started on our next million trees is more important than ever—and we need your help more than ever. Your gift to Friends of Trees will play a key role in ensuring our long term ability to grow our community forest where and when we need it most, and to make sure the community is involved in the process.

Make a donation to our Millionth Tree Campaign

THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS

Presenting Millionth Tree Partner:

Thanks to all of our Million Tree Partners!

Business Support

Partner Spotlight: NW Natural

NW Natural’s partnership helped Friends of Trees reach and celebrate 1,000,000 trees & native plants

NW Natural has partnered with Friends of Trees for over a decade, so it made perfect sense for them to collaborate with us for our millionth tree season. They sponsored 10 community tree planting events, bringing together hundreds of people to plant thousands of trees and native plants.

Two of NW Natural’s core values are environmental stewardship and caring, both of which they find in the partnership with Friends of Trees.

We’re proud to support Friends of Trees because they’re a partner who exemplifies what caring can look like—bringing together volunteers to plant trees that will have a long-lasting impact for our communities.”
– Sama Shagaga, community affairs at NW Natural

NW Natural also organized a day for its employees to volunteer at a Friend of Trees event this spring, connecting employees who don’t often get to work with each other. They joined Friends of Trees at Bagley Park in downtown Hillsboro for an awesome day of planting.

“When employees go out to projects they get to accomplish something as a team,” Sama says. “They get to walk away knowing they’ve made an impact.”

Our millionth tree celebration and planting event could not have been as successful without the support of NW Natural, who provided tenting and catering for the 200 attendees at the party at our office in Portland. It was a quintessentially Friends of Trees event, a perfect marker for this milestone for the organization, our partners, and the community.

Volunteer Spotlight

How To Do The Tree Dance

This season at Friends of Trees, we will plant our millionth tree. Our millionth tree, like all of the trees and native shrubs we’ve planted, will be planted with the power of community volunteers. We’re telling their stories! Read more here.

Volunteer crew leader Shay Snyder knows that climate action should be fun and inclusive.

When Shay’s crew finishes planting a tree, they encourage the whole crew to do a tree dance in celebration.

“The tree dance? I’m obsessed with it,” they say. “One thing I’ve learned from teaching adults is that they don’t have many chances to feel like a kid. And we’re playing in the dirt, we can feel like a kid.”

Shay teaches college success at Portland State University and believes their classroom management skills help them be a confident and engaging crew leader at Friends of Trees neighborhood tree plantings. They strive to achieve the balance of creating a fun atmosphere and accomplishing something meaningful.

“If you’re going to get up early on a Saturday morning to volunteer, it should be fun,” Shay says. “I like when people find ways to have fun doing things that aren’t necessarily supposed to be fun.”

Since Shay started leading crews in 2021, very few people have been resistant to do the tree dance. And in fact, the people who are reluctant in the beginning usually dance with the most enthusiasm by the end of the planting.

For the accomplishment side of the equation, Shay has another tradition. After the first tree gets planted, they tell their crew: there wasn’t a tree here and now there’s a tree here.

Doing something tangible was what drew Shay to Friends of Trees in 2021. That, and the fact that their middle name is Aspen, something they always bring up to crews when discussing favorite trees.

“I was feeling really stressed about climate change…Why did I say that in the past tense? I am really stressed about climate change. But it feels better to do something about it. It’s doing the thing and feeling like I’ve done the thing, and it’s finding the people who care enough to do something hard on a Saturday morning.”

Shay doesn’t think they ever planted a tree before volunteering with Friends of Trees, but didn’t let that hold them back.

“I’m definitely not a tree expert. But just because I’m not a botanist or a biologist doesn’t mean I can’t contribute. I just learned how to plant a tree. Almost anyone can dig in the dirt.”

Friends of Trees strives to create inclusive planting events. Anyone can come, regardless of their background or experience. Shay loves that planting events bring together lots of people who care about trees.

“You get to meet people you’re unlikely to meet otherwise,” they say. “There’s something so special about a group of people spending four hours together and accomplishing something. And maybe you never see them again, and that’s okay.”

For Shay, those connections are powerful, and a model for climate action that also bridges divides between people.

There are some folks that Shay does get to see again: The Friends of Trees staff.

“If you volunteer more than once, they really get to know you,” they say. “Right before the last event I attended, my old dog passed away. And the staff was so kind and caring. They are all folks who care and you can feel that.”

So much brings Shay back over and over again, including a true volunteer spirit—”It’s civic engagement that’s fun!”—that they love to see in others.

“At my first ever planting we got soaked to the bone,” they say. “And people stayed. I love that.”

Oh yeah, you want to know how to do a Tree Dance? Just plant a tree. And dance. Together.

A Million Trees, A Million Stories is brought to you by our Presenting Partner, Portland General Electric.

PGE

Get to Know our Partner: PGE

With us since 1989, Portland General Electric is the Presenting Partner of our Millionth Tree Celebration

Just like the decades-old trees we’ve planted throughout the years, our partnership with Portland General Electric has deep roots. Since 1989, PGE and Friends of Trees have partnered with the shared belief of investing in the environmental health and economic success of our communities by planting native trees and shrubs.

Our partnership with PGE has allowed us to bring communities together to instantly beautify neighborhoods and parks, while also supporting healthy air quality. PGE knows trees play a pivotal role in climate action by removing CO2 and other pollutants, resulting in better air quality for everyone.

As PGE and Friends of Trees are dedicated to building the greenery of our communities, we are both also committed to thoughtful tree selection and planting education. PGE’s “right tree, right place” initiative works to empower customers before planting to ensure their trees can grow and thrive without interfering with powerlines or other electrical equipment.

“Selecting the right tree species in the right location is critical to the long-term growth and success of the tree,” said PGE Senior Manager Vegetation Management, Alex Konopka. “We want to empower customers to make the right decisions now before they plant to ensure their trees can grow to full potential.”

Over the past 36 years, PGE has sponsored hundreds of tree planting events. With PGE employees volunteering countless hours to the cause, it’s not uncommon to see a crew of volunteers wearing PGE shirts, eager to get trees in the ground.

“Planting just one tree is really gratifying, but planting one million together is an amazing milestone that demonstrates our values as a community,” says PGE Community Impact Director, Kregg Arntson.

He continues, “We are grateful to Friends of Trees for bringing us together for more than three decades to plant trees and native plants that have beautified our neighborhoods and parks, made the air cleaner, and contributed to healthier living.”

We were joined at our Millionth Tree celebration by folks from Portland General Electric. In his remarks, Friends of Trees founder Richard Seidman shouted out PGE for being a partner on our very first tree, planted at Boise-Eliot Elementary School in 1989.

“PGE was at our very first planting,” says Friends of Trees Executive Director Yashar Vasef. “We’ve done so many things with them over the years, like hosting Project Zero interns and modernizing our fleet with electric vehicles through the PGE Drive Change fund. We’re very grateful for all their support.”

Before helping plant the Millionth Tree itself, PGE CEO Maria Pope thanked the volunteers and crew leaders who planted alongside PGE employees at Saturday events over the past 36 years.

“This achievement is the result of decades of partnership, thousands of volunteers and a shared belief in the power of community to shape a healthier, more resilient future,” said Pope. “Thank you to Friends of Trees for more than 30 years of leadership—and to every volunteer who helped get us here.”

We’re excited that Portland General Electric is the Presenting Partner for our Millionth Tree Celebration. They’re helping us celebrate by supporting volunteer events throughout the planting season and other fun community events like tree walks and volunteer appreciation parties. All of this will culminate with the Millionth Tree Celebration & Planting in April.

“We could not have reached this milestone without their support,” says Yashar Vasef, Friends of Trees Executive Director. “We’re so grateful to have had such a committed partner throughout our entire history.”

PGE is also helping us tell the story of our first million trees and native shrubs. Check out A Million Trees, A Million Stories, brought to you by PGE, to hear about some of the people who have made an incredible impact for the community working with Friends of Trees. One of the stories is from Adrian, a PGE Project Zero intern!