About 40 Portland Timbers staffers, including owner and president Merritt Paulson, head coach John Spencer, chief operating officer Mike Golub, and new Timbers community ambassador Scot Thompson, joined Friends of Trees today to plant 60 native trees along the I-205 Multi-Use Path near SE 92nd Avenue and Division Street.

The planting was the Timbers’ first all-staff volunteer day this year and showed the Timbers’ commitment to improving the community by enhancing the environment.

“Community service is at the center of what we do,” Paulson told the planting volunteers. Noting the Timbers’ commitment to plant a tree for every goal scored at a home game, he said John Spencer had assured him that the team would score three goals on average per game.

Friends of Trees Executive Director Scott Fogarty told the crowd that Friends of Trees was excited about its new partnership with the Portland Timbers. The January 20 planting, he said, was part of a multi-year project with the Oregon Department of Transportation, Metro, and many others to green the I-205 Multi-Use Path.

Throughout the morning, the Timbers staff planted trees to the sound of the new Green Line pulling to a stop, then moving on along its path, and to the rush of traffic along I-205. Numerous cyclists rode past on the path, one wearing a mask to filter impurities from the air.

“I bet he’s glad we’re planting trees here,” said Sean Sweeney, Friends of Trees Green Space Initiative Specialist.

The new trees along the path will filter air pollutants, reduce water pollution, provide habitat for songbirds and other wildlife, and enhance the beauty of the path for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users.

You can read more about the Timbers’ Score a Goal, Plant a Tree partnership with Friends of Trees on our blog, Growth Rings. Learn more about today’s planting on KOIN, KGW, and KPTV, and listen for a story on KPAM.

–TR