Friends of Trees volunteer Terry Brier, Portland district manager for the Davey Tree Expert Company, was featured in a recent issue of The Bulletin, a company magazine with a national circulation.

Friends of Trees appreciates Terry’s expertise and his dedication as a crew leader and summer inspector. We also appreciate the Davey Tree Expert Company’s contributions to the Portland-Vancouver area’s tree canopy. For example, the Davey Resource Group helped the City of Portland calculate the cost to residents of maintaining trees in planting strips as part of the city’s Grey to Green Initiative planning.

The story about Terry Brier is copied below. You can find it on page 19 of the spring issue of The Bulletin.

As a Davey employee and certified arborist, Terry Brier is naturally a friend of trees. But he also officially is one—a partner arborist of the Portland-Vancouver area nonprofit Friends of Trees, that is.

Friends of Trees was founded in 1989 to bring people in the region together to plant and care for city trees and green spaces. District manager for Davey’s Portland office, Brier joined Friends of Trees last year as a volunteer summer inspector and twice examined about 30 newly planted trees to make sure they were healthy and being properly watered, mulched and cared for. He also trained other summer inspectors and served as volunteer crew leader. He led planting crews at six plantings this season and continues to inspect trees this summer.

“It’s not just about putting trees in the ground. It’s about the community,” Brier said. “This group works to unite the people in the neighborhoods.”

Andy Meeks, Friends of Trees’ volunteer and outreach manager, said people like Brier help make Friends of Trees a better program. Last year alone, more than 2,100 volunteers from all walks of life pitched in, logging about 23,000 hours of time.

Friends of Trees has planted more than 400,000 trees and native plants. A recent Friends of Trees survey indicated 96.5 percent of neighborhood trees the organization planted during the 2009-10 season survived through the first critical summer after planting.

“Without our volunteers, we simply wouldn’t be able to do what we do. They’re vital to Friends of Trees,” Meeks said. “People like Terry who have the expertise really are our ambassadors because they are able to teach and share their knowledge. Having people like Terry who go the extra distance on planting day helps make it a great event. We couldn’t do it without our motivated volunteers.”

–The Bulletin