Tag: trainings
Make a lasting difference in your neighborhood
By Kate Farrington
Friends of Trees is already planning for the 2011-12 planting season, and we need your help! In order to surpass last season’s record of 4,545 trees and attain our goal of planting 5,500 low-cost street and yard trees in the Portland-Vancouver metro area next year, we need Neighborhood coordinators who can volunteer their time to help organize these neighborhood plantings.
Neighborhood coordinators are essential to making a Friends of Trees tree planting event possible by talking to neighbors about planting trees, keeping track of homeowner inquiries and tree requests, and helping organize their neighborhood planting event with support from the Friends of Trees staff.
No experience is necessary! We’ll train you in all aspects of this role and support you throughout the planting season as you raise awareness about the planting event, help your neighbors order trees, and organize the logistics of planting day.
Neighborhood coordinators typically work in teams as adjacent neighborhoods are grouped into planting events together. Scheduling is very flexible, and most work can be done at home. The typical time commitment is approximately 80 hours from mid-summer until the planting event occurs between November and March.
Participating in this program is an excellent opportunity to meet your neighbors, develop valuable organizing skills, and have fun while making an important and lasting difference in your community. Remember, the trees you help plant today will improve aesthetics, air and water quality, neighborhood livability, stormwater mitigation, and property values for decades to come!
If you’re interested in attending our next training, please fill out this registration form. There are several neighborhoods in Portland and Vancouver that currently don’t have a coordinator, and without a neighborhood coordinator, we’re unable to plant trees there!
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FIRST TRAINING SESSION: This session is required for all prospective neighborhood coordinators. It is intended to give a broad introduction to Friends of Trees and the Neighborhood Trees program as well as information about a neighborhood coordinator’s roles, responsibilities, and strategies needed to get the job done.
Wednesday June 8, from 6:00-8:30 p.m. at Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church, 2828 SE Stephens Street, Portland OR 97214.
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Tuesday August 16 from 6:00-8:30 p.m. Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church, 2828 SE Stephens Street Portland, OR 97214 (map)
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SECOND TRAINING SESSION: This session will be an opportunity for new and returning neighborhood coordinators to meet each other, talk about ideas, and learn more about our online ordering system.
Thursday, August 18, from 6:00-8:30 p.m. Northeast Community Center, 1630 Northeast 38th Avenue Portland OR (map) This is for Portland coordinators only.
Tuesday August 23 from 6:00-8:30 p.m. Location TBD. This is for Vancouver coordinators only.
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If you have any questions or would like to sign up for these trainings, please e-mail Kate Farrington, or call her at 503-282-8846 ext. 28. We look forward to working with you!
— Farrington is a Neighborhood Trees Specialist with Friends of Trees.
Why become a crew leader?
By Greg Tudor
As a transplant to Portland, I know personally how tough it can be to connect to the community at large. Which happy hour should you go to? Where can you go play pick-up soccer? Short of “accidentally” locking your bike to the cute neighbor’s bike, how are you going to learn anyone’s name?
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Becoming a crew leader with Friends of Trees is hands-down the best way to meet people in this town. Think about it, you’re out in the fresh air, meeting other people who want to get involved in their community, other tree huggers (or tree high fivers) no less. And the best part? Everyone’s wearing a name tag.
Regardless of your level of experience planting trees, if you’ve got the enthusiasm for it, we’ll teach you how. Friends of Trees crew leaders come from all around the world, with different backgrounds, different educations, and different interests. But the one thing that they all share is a desire to make Portland a greener, friendlier, healthier city. By planting with Friends of Trees, you’re physically contributing to your community, learning the names of the neighborhoods and the surrounding areas, making a difference every Saturday.
You can pre-register for our Neighborhood Trees Crew Leader Trainings HERE and for our Green Space Initiative Crew Leader Trainings HERE. These trainings are always popular and space is limited!
For more information about becoming a crew leader, or about volunteering in general, contact Andy Meeks at (503)282-8846 ext. 24, or email him at [email protected].
Tudor is the Development Manager for Friends of Trees.