279 Trees to be Planted in Six Neighborhoods Sat., Feb. 16

Feb 13, 2008

Contact: Teri Ruch
503-282-8846 ext. 17

WHO: City Commissioner Sam Adams will join hundreds of homeowners and Friends of Trees volunteers to plant 279 trees in six Portland neighborhoods.

WHAT: Volunteers of all ages will plant the 8 to 12-foot tall trees representing 48 species at this year's biggest neighborhood planting. The planting is in the Boise, Eliot, Humboldt, King, Overlook and Piedmont neighborhoods.

WHEN: After opening remarks at 9 a.m., volunteers will form 23 crews to plant the trees. Sam Adams will attend the planting from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Volunteers will share a potluck lunch from noon to 1 p.m. at Friends of Trees.

WHERE: Planters meet at 9 a.m. at Friends of Trees, 3117 NE ML King Jr. Blvd.

CONTACT: Program Director Brighton West can be reached by cell phone at 404-247-1089. Executive Director Scott Fogarty can be reached at cell phone number 503-453-4821.

The Feb. 16 six-neighborhood planting is sponsored by Adidas and has received support from the Oregon Dept. of Transportation, Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services, Portland Parks & Recreation-City Nature Urban Forestry, the Boise Community Association, Metro, and developer Peter Perrin.

Nobel Laureate Al Gore notes that planting trees slows climate change. According to an October study by Portland Parks & Recreation-City Nature Urban Forestry, Portland's trees also intercept 25 million pounds of air pollutants and half a billion gallons of storm water a year, greatly reducing river pollution and saving the city millions of dollars in storm water management costs.

Friends of Trees brings people in the Portland-Vancouver area together to plant and care for city trees and urban natural areas. Since 1989, the more than 350,000 trees and native plants that Friends of Trees has planted provide increasing benefits as they grow. Portland's increased tree cover, called "the Portland effect," has led to national recognition for Friends of Trees and the city of Portland last year. To learn more, visit www.FriendsofTrees.org.