Friends of Trees - Twelve Ways to Honor Trees for Arbor & Earth Month

Twelve Ways to Honor Trees for Arbor & Earth Month

Apr 3, 2008

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

The four-county Portland-Vancouver metro area is offering many opportunities this April to honor trees for Arbor and Earth Month. Friends of Trees will join community partners at the following 12 events:

1. Friday, April 4, 12:30 p.m. Volunteers are invited to join Friends of Trees to plant 30 large street trees as part of our Greening the Eastside Project. No previous experience is necessary. The planting begins at Environmental Building Supply, 819 SE Taylor St., Portland.

2. Saturday, April 5, 9 a.m. to noon. Friends of Trees will join Vestal Elementary School for a Tree Giveaway at the school, 161 NE 82nd Ave., Portland. Donations will support Friends of Trees, Vestal Elementary School, and Growing Gardens.

3. Monday, April 7, 10 a.m. Portland Parks & Recreation's City Nature-Urban Forestry will host a Portland Arbor Day Celebration at Hoyt Arboretum, 4000 SW Fairview Blvd, Portland.

4. Wednesday, April 9, 11 a.m. to noon. Vancouver Urban Forestry of Vancouver-Clark Parks & Recreation will host Vancouver's Arbor Day Celebration at McLoughlin Middle School, 5802 MacArthur Blvd, Vancouver. Mayor Royce Pollard will speak to the crowd.

5. Saturday, April 12, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friends of Trees and the city of Beaverton will host a tree planting for Beaverton's Arbor Day Celebration at Taliesen Park, SW 130th Ave & SW Heather Ct., Beaverton. People of all ages are invited to plant with us. No previous experience is necessary.

6. Saturday, April 12, 9 a.m. to noon. Friends of Trees will lead volunteers of all ages and experience levels in planting trees with Owens Corning. All are invited to join us at 3750 NW Yeon St. at 8:45 a.m. Please wear sturdy boots.

7. Saturday, April 19, 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Friends of Trees and SOLV will lead volunteers in weeding, mulching and watering newly planted native trees and plants along the South Portland Riverbank at Willamette Park. SW Macadam Ave. & Nebraska St., Portland.

8. Saturday, April 19, 10 a.m. to noon. Friends of Trees will give away trees at Earth Day 2008: Dance of the Dinosaur, organized by City Repair Project with local nonprofits. Overlook Park, 3704 N Interstate Ave, Portland (Earth Day Celebration continues until 10 p.m.)

9. Saturday, April 19, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Join North and Northeast businesses and other local groups for the second annual Spiffin' Up Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Volunteers will pick up trash and clean graffiti. The event begins at Friends of Trees, 3117 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.

10. Saturday, April 19, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friends of Trees will join the city of Gresham for Gresham's Earth Day Celebration. Gresham City Hall, 1550 NW Eastman Pkwy, Gresham.

11. Tuesday, April 22. On Earth Day at New Season Markets throughout the Portland metro area, Friends of Trees will give away native seedling trees.

12. Tuesday, April 22, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. With support from Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services, Friends of Trees will lead students and teachers in planting trees at Hosford Middle School, 2303 SE 28th Pl, Portland.

You can also buy a gift tree for a friend or family member by visiting Gift Trees at www.FriendsofTrees.org.

Since 1989, Friends of Trees has mobilized thousands of volunteers to plant more than 350,000 trees and native plants in the Portland-Vancouver metro area, increasing Portland's tree canopy during decades when a dozen major U.S. cities lost a quarter of their tree cover.

Nobel Laureate Al Gore often points out that planting trees slows climate change. In addition, a recent Portland Parks & Recreation City Nature-Urban Forestry study revealed that our city trees intercept 25 million pounds of air pollutants and half a billion gallons of stormwater a year, greatly reducing river pollution. And a U.S. Forest Service study released this March shows that the benefits of planting trees in Portland neighborhoods outweigh the cost by ten to one.

Friends of Trees inspires community stewardship of our urban forest by bringing people in the Portland-Vancouver area together to plant and care for city trees and urban natural areas. For more information about Friends of Trees or April Arbor and Earth Month events, visit www.FriendsofTrees.org.