Tag: neighborhood involvement
What a Great Season to be a Neighborhood Coordinator, You Should Consider Joining the TEAM!
Well it is sunny for once in Oregon and I’m glad it’s not too hot since I know the trees aren’t huge fans of 90 degree heat for multiple days. Although, that’s not the case for humans but you can’t have it all. Enough of the weather, I want to talk to you all about an exciting volunteer role that we are recruiting for here at Friends of Trees. We are looking for folks to jump into the role of Neighborhood Coordinator! But what does a Neighborhood Coordinator entail? Great question!
Here is a brief explanation of what the volunteer role might look for you: Together, NCs and Friends of Trees staff guide neighborhood plantings from beginning to end. No need to be an expert! Interested volunteers will be trained and supported throughout the planting that you will be coordinating. Together with staff, you will:
- Help coordinate one neighborhood planting per year (November-April);
- Respond to homeowner inquiries by email & phone;
- Make phone calls to homeowners that have not ordered their tree(s) to help them make their decision;
- Solicit pick-up trucks or open trailer pullers from neighbors;
- Recruit additional volunteers (Takes quite a few volunteers for one planting);
- Solicit food/monetary donations from the community for breakfast/lunch;
- Set up/coordinate breakfast & lunch for the volunteers on planting day
This is just a brief snapshot of what the volunteer role could be for you! We need NCs in these neighborhoods below:
Here are a few pictures that illustrate the results of what NCs accomplish:
If you know of anyone interested in the role (or yourself) and happen to be in a neighborhood listed in the table above please send them our way, share this blog with them, and cross your fingers that they sign up for the role with our handy registration form. REMEMBER, the best way to share volunteer opportunities is still through word of mouth (or text since that’s how folks seem to communicate nowadays).
Hope you continue to have a great Summer and kudos to you for making it through this detailed blog post!!
Pablo Brito is the Volunteer & Outreach Specialist for Friends of Trees
Street tree inventories going on all over Portland
By Kate Farrington
Want to get more trees planted in your neighborhood, better maintain local trees, and grow our knowledge base about our urban forest? Then you should check out the neighborhood street tree inventories being conducted this summer in the Sellwood-Moreland, Eastmoreland, Kenton, Overlook, and St. Johns neighborhoods in Portland.
Local community groups and interested neighborhood volunteers are mobilizing to inventory street trees, looking at tree species, size, health, site conditions, and available planting spaces. Portland Urban Forestry staff will train and guide volunteers through the inventory process. They’ll also analyze the collected data and present results to neighborhood stakeholders. The result will be a Neighborhood Stewardship Plan.
Lots of volunteers will be needed to collect this wealth of data on Portland’s street trees. Three main volunteer roles need to be filled. First, volunteers are needed to collect tree data. No prior tree knowledge is required for this role. Second, if you have tree identification knowledge and want to take on more responsibility, you can be a tree inventory team leader. Lastly, if you are an arborist, you are needed as an Arborist-on-Call for inventory sessions to answer questions and problem-solve with teams in the field.
If you are interested in learning more about trees and helping with this inventory effort, register to volunteer for a specific inventory day on the Urban Forestry web site. For more information, contact Danielle Fuchs or Angie DiSalvo at 503-823-4484 or [email protected]
–Farrington is a Neighborhood Trees Specialist at Friends of Trees.