Tag: green space
A River Runs Through Campus
Our Eugene Team partnered with University of Oregon for a natural area planting project
As University of Oregon students cross the Willamette River to get to the football stadium on game day, they’ll pass through the Willamette River Natural Area where they’ll see trees that Friends of Trees volunteers planted this year.
In 2022, the university designated 20+ acres of property as the Willamette River Natural Area which presents a great opportunity to restore and expand the riparian forest there. The planting area included a few different sections, including an oak savannah and a grove with 19 different tree species native to the Willamette Valley. Both of these areas were designed not just for restoration but with educational purposes in mind, too. The project planners wanted the event to empower students by involving them in every step from the design, event preparation and teaching tree planting skills.
“We focused our outreach on getting students to volunteer so that they could feel ownership over the positive change these trees will have on the campus where they spend their time, ” says Emily Hamblen, Campus Natural Areas Steward at UO.
“That’s the special nature of tree planting,” says Carson Houchen, the student tree steward who works with Emily. “You make such an impact. I know exactly which black hawthorne I planted and I will definitely be going back to check on it!”
Student volunteers were joined by other community members on a beautiful sunny day at the end of January. Together, the 84 volunteers planted 174 trees in a single morning, well on the way to the 455 total for this project. These trees will add to the riparian buffer along the river and shade the multi-use bike path for walkers and bikers. Funding for the project comes from an Oregon Department of Forestry Urban and Community Forestry grant and includes three years of watering and student tree stewards to help the trees establish.
“Events like this create a sense of hope for the future,” Emily says. “As the volunteers progressed through the natural area, it was completely transformed. They were planting so fast we had to get more trees!”
Emily explains that they take a three-pronged approach to projects like this: restoration, engagement, and research. While the restored natural area will engage people in recreation and education, this planting project will also allow for some experimentation. The white oak planting area had the addition of duff from an established grove to see if the mycorrhizae can help these new trees get established. Emily’s team will also be measuring the growth of each tree to determine which species are most successful.
“We’re feeling really good about the survivorship of these plantings,” Carson says. “Friends of Trees volunteers do such a great job planting, even if they show up with zero experience.”
“We couldn’t have done this without Friends of Trees, the volunteers, and the student employees,” Emily says.
Creating Long-Term Impact in Eugene
Northwest Youth Corps crews have worked to protect our natural area plantings for the future.
This fall, the Eugene Branch hosted three crews from Northwest Youth Corps, which provides hands-on education and job training in conservation fields to youth and young adults. The crews spent much of their time at our Green Space planting sites making sure the work done to enhance these natural areas continues to have an impact well into the future.
“They’ve done such great work for us and for the City of Eugene,” Eugene Director Erik Burke says. “We really want to show native plant restoration work that looks healthy and cared for so that we can inspire people to plant that way at their homes.”
The work involved weeding and mulching at the planting sites along Northwest Expressway in Eugene, Bob Straub Parkway in Springfield, and in the Bethel neighborhood near Danebo Pond in West Eugene. This work protects the trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants from grass competition and mowers. It also protects pollinator habitat and bridges gaps for wildlife alongside major arterials.
“The members had the opportunity to work alongside great staff who took the time to educate our folks and explain the why behind the work,” says Will Wildebrandt, Urban Community Forestry Program Coordinator for Northwest Youth Corps. “They enjoyed being able to see a visible difference. It feels good to walk away from newly created tree mulch rings knowing they will be crucial in helping those trees grow and reach their full potential.”
The NYC members also had a chance to do neighborhood outreach, connecting with community members about the benefits of trees and green spaces in their neighborhoods.
“In our Urban Community Forestry program, we really care about making people feel more connected to the city they live in,” Will says, “and this project is a great way to build connections with neighbors while sharing the work we are doing with the community.”
“All the youth corps members were excited about the work,” says Taylor Glass, Eugene-Springfield Program Manager. “They were really into trees and could tell that the work was part of something bigger.”
The Eugene team has loved working with the Northwest Youth Corps crews, who have accomplished work that otherwise didn’t have funding. For everyone involved, it shows the power of partnerships to create a lasting impact.
“The work gives the city a better chance to expand its green space while giving our members the opportunity to know that the work they are doing is benefiting an entire community and truly matters,” Will says. “This can be very empowering.”
Garry Kicks Off The Planting Season!
Dear Diary,
The 37th planting season has started, can you believe it? I know that in Oregon white oak years, I’m just a kid. I’m only 37, and I could live to be 500! So this diary isn’t a mid-life crisis, or even a quarter-life crisis. I’ve just had some awesome experiences lately and want to write about them on paper and not just in my growth rings.
My leaves may be starting to turn and my friends are winding down toward winter dormancy, but I’m getting revved up for the Friends of Trees planting season. I went to my first event of the season last week and wow, the vibes were so good.
You know me, I’m a savanna kind of tree. But that’s what made going to Jackson Bottom Wetlands such a refreshing change of pace! This 635 acre wetland is really somethin’ special. So many birds were flying overhead! Our planting season kicks off there in October before the rains come. Turns out, wetlands can be pretty dry…until they aren’t.
But no muckboots were needed as 60 volunteers rolled in on that gorgeous Saturday morning. You know those crispy mornings when you can tell that the sun is going to come up warm and burn off the mist? It was one of those! Ugh, it just feels so good. I just love fall mornings like that.
Volunteers arrived with their families or friends or even by themselves, ready to feel good by doing good. We even had Hillsboro’s Japanese Community Day volunteers bring a group of 12 for their 27th year(!) working at Jackson Bottom. This is Friends of Trees’ 12th season at Jackson Bottom, and it is so exciting to see how much impact our volunteers have had. I love the crew huddle where we get to know each other. And stretch!
Oh yeah, I mentioned feeling good a couple times already. I should probably mention that that’s our theme this year:
FEEL GOOD. DO GOOD. PLANT TREES.
Makes sense right? People plant trees and native plants for so many reasons. To get outside, to make their communities greener, to provide bugs and critters with food and homes, to fight the big bad villain that is climate change. I think everyone does it because it feels good to do good.
There’s so much going on in the world. It can be rough, even for me, an Oregon white oak that is going to live for 500 years. So it’s nice to spend a Saturday morning meeting new people and planting a buttload of trees.
So that’s what we did! We planted 600 black cottonwoods! Populus trichocarpa are dear friends of mine, and I think they are gonna LOVE it on the forested edge of this wetland. Especially after being planted by people who care about trees, about community, and who make sure to take care of each other, too.
By midmorning, there were so many flannels and fleeces piled by the trail. It warmed up, just like I knew it would, and the sun shone on so many smiling faces. I just kept thinking, enjoy each moment, get to know each tree.
The season is just getting started! I may accidentally leave this diary somewhere someone might find it. That’s okay, this isn’t a secret diary. If you’re reading this, COME PLANT TREES WITH US. IT WILL FEEL AWESOME!
Tree-mendously yours,
Garry
P.S. Sign up to volunteer already!
P.P.S. You can support these good vibes and good trees by donating!
Join us for MLK Weekend Planting Events!
Friends of Trees has impactful volunteer events on this weekend of service
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has long been observed with community service. Friends of Trees is proud to offer meaningful volunteer service opportunities throughout the region. Together, we’re working toward everyone having access to trees, green spaces, and the important benefits they provide to community members.
These events will likely fill up! Individual volunteers can sign up on our event calendar. If your group, including business groups, want to join in on the action, visit this page for more details.
If you’re a business that wants to support MLK Weekend events with a sponsorship, visit this page for details, or reach out to our Corporate & Business Relations Manager, Sam Erman at [email protected].
NEIGHBORHOOD EVENTS
Our neighborhood planting events are an awesome way to engage with other community members and make a tangible impact right where people live, all in a single Saturday morning. Volunteers meet up at the staging site, enjoy a short program over some coffee and breakfast treats, then go out into the neighborhoods to plant trees with guidance from their crew leaders! Together, we’ll plant about 100 trees!
MLK Corridor ~ N/NE Portland
January 17, 8:45 am – 1 pm | 3117 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR
Let’s plant trees together in Portland on the inner eastside, including some historically black neighborhoods. Of special note: this event is staged at our office! This planting is part of our new collaboration with Portland Urban Forestry.
Aloha Neighborhoods
January 17, 8:45 am – 1 pm | Staging Location TBD
We have an awesome planting event in Aloha neighborhoods for our Washington County peeps! Neighborhood trees provide countless benefits to the community, from cleaning air and water to providing the cooling power of shade.
NATURAL AREA EVENTS
Our green space plantings are for nature lovers. Together, we’ll enhance natural areas and parks with hundreds of native trees and plants that will improve wildlife habitat, air and water, and opportunities for people to connect with nature. Volunteers work in crews throughout the morning at the natural area. Snacks, gloves, and instructions provided!
Columbia Slough Natural Area ~ NE Portland
January 17, 9:45 am – 1 pm | 11058 NE Simpson St, Portland, OR
Friends of Trees is excited to partner with Portland OIC and Portland Parks & Recreation to restore this two acre parcel of the Columbia Slough. Help us plant hundreds of native shrubs and wildflowers at this important community site.
Stites Nature Park ~ Forest Grove
January 17, 8:45 am – 1 pm | 2423 26th Ave, Forest Grove, OR
Calling all nature lovers! Help us plant hundreds of native wildflowers and shrubs at Stites Nature Park in Forest Grove!
THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS
 |  |
March (Planting) Madness in Eugene
Our Eugene Team partnered with University of Oregon for a natural area planting project
This March, there was a truly exciting University of Oregon event—a natural area planting! No one loses when more than 50 students show up to plant in the riparian zone of the Willamette River.
“U of O has a huge presence here in Eugene,” says Eugene Director Erik Burke, “so it was great to be able to partner with them on this really cool project.”
The university owns a lot of land along the Willamette River, which presents a great opportunity to restore and expand the riparian forest along it. Riparian zones are the areas alongside a waterway where land and water interact. Riparian plants are critical to the health of a waterway as they prevent erosion, help break down pollutants from the water, and provide habitat for aquatic wildlife.
Students from environmental science, landscape architecture and other programs planted natives like red-flowering currant, twinberry and tall Oregon grape. They even transitioned from riparian forest to savannah, planting trees like ponderosa pine and Oregon white oak alongside wildflowers. This stretch of riparian forest grew from 30 feet wide to 50 feet wide in a single planting event.
“There’s not a lot of riparian forest left along the Willamette,” Erik says. “It’s really valuable to be able to make improvements to what we do have. We’re grateful to U of O for bringing this opportunity to us.”
We have plans to do three more of these natural area plantings with the University of Oregon in the next two years, giving these student volunteers more opportunity to make a positive impact on the Willamette River. Sounds like a slam dunk to us.