By Andy Meeks

Over 37,000 native trees and shrubs were planted by volunteers in our Green Space Initiative program this season at 45 different planting and restoration projects. To honor and protect all of that hard work, we’re ready for the next step:  ensuring the viability and survival of those trees.

The plentiful rain (and sun!) in western Oregon in the spring create prime growing conditions for all sorts of vegetation—and not necessarily the beneficial kind. Invasive species that grow quickly and out-compete native vegetation—think English ivy, Himalayan blackberry and clematis, for example—also have negative benefits for soil retention, biodiversity and water quality.

We’re organizing four tree-care events on the next four Saturday mornings at planting sites from this season to help the new trees and shrubs get a fair start against this competition. These are maintenance-oriented events focused on mulching, tubing and, if necessary, invasives removal.  We’ll not only teach you how to remove invasive plant species by hand, but we’ll also teach native plant identification skills and various care techniques.

Read More