Friends of Trees volunteers improve neighborhood livability with the planting of a tree in North Portland.
Photo by Shasta Lin
Group to plant 16,000 new trees
Portland’s about to get a lot shadier, with the addition of 16,000 new street trees planted over the next three years.
Friends of Trees has been contracted by the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services to oversee the tree planting, which will concentrate on neighborhoods on the east side of the Willamette River.
The nonprofit group is looking to plant 5,200 trees in Portland this season alone – 60 percent more than last year.
In an effort to bring awareness to the need for street trees, Friends of Trees developed the Plant It Portland! campaign to bring people together to plant and care for city trees and green spaces.
Through its Neighborhood Trees program, homeowners can buy discounted trees to plant with their neighbors at weekend plantings. Since 1989, Friends of Trees has planted more than 390,000 trees and native plants.
The campaign highlights the benefits of trees, including that planting street and yard trees can add up to $7,000 to the value of a home. In today’s housing market, that can make a big difference.
Most important to the city of Portland, the root systems from trees soak up rain water and reduce street runoff which can pick up debris, chemicals, dirt and other pollutants, and flow them into the storm sewer system or directly into a body of water.
Although the planting season doesn’t begin until early-December, homeowners are encouraged to buy their trees now for greater selection. Trees range in price from $35 to $75, which includes the wholesale price of the tree, delivery, hole digging, planting assistance, stakes, and follow-up maintenance checks.
Tree plantings are already scheduled in 56 neighborhoods around the city.
For a schedule or additional information, contact Friends of Trees at 503-282-8846 or visit FriendsofTrees.org.
