Garry the Oak tours downtown Portland

Outreach: 04.23.10, Downtown PDX
Garry the Oak visited downtown Portland in honor of Earth Day yesterday. Did you see him? (FOT file)

In honor of Earth Day, Garry the Oak went for a stroll in downtown Portland yesterday.

In addition to informing residents on the importance of a healthy, thriving urban tree canopy, Garry made time to visit his favorite food cart, pose for photos, and talk with a member of the Phoenix Suns basketball team.

Big day for Garry; big day for the Earth. Even though Earth Day is over, Friends of Trees works year-round to plant trees that clean air and water in our communities.

Make a donation today and help us achieve our collective goals!

–Toshio Suzuki

Trail Blazers fan photos with Garry the Oak

The Portland Trail Blazers celebrated Green Awareness Week by inviting the Friends of Trees mascot–Garry the Oak–to their pivotal game Friday night.

Hundreds of fans met Garry the Oak and received a custom-made Friends of Trees button that commemorated the event.

Despite losing 83-77 to Dallas, the Trail Blazers are still finishing the season strong and had plenty to celebrate on Friday, becoming the first major sports team to earn LEED Gold status for the Rose Garden.

Justin Zeulner, who directs sustainability issues for the Trail Blazers and Rose Garden facilities, said engaging fans in partnership with Friends of Trees is a great way to connect tree planting initiatives to the region.

“We want to be able to connect with organizations such as Friends of Trees and the community through that organization,” said Zeulner. “At the end of the day we hope that our fans engage now with Friends of Trees through programs that we want to be able to offer to the public.”

A special thanks to the Trail Blazers for their hospitality and to all the dedicated Rip City fans!

Which of the over 100 fan photos is the best?

–Toshio Suzuki