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.