Friends of Trees

It's no secret, I love trees. Once I got a stable job out here, I began looking for a volunteer opportunity and I focused on the environment. I came across an amazing organization called Friends of Trees. It is their mission to "bring people together to plant and care for city trees and green spaces in Pacific Northwest communities.: I knew it was the place for me!

I signed up for Crew Leader training in the Green Spaces Initiative and went to training on Halloween. We met at Forest Park and spent the morning planting as our crews will and then the afternoon we were taught how to lead crews. Crew leaders arrive early to prep and when the other volunteers arrive, we break out into several teams. 

Everyone in the fall training before we got dirty.

It was fun being able to plant native plants in such a beautiful location. I learned a lot of fun facts, like: did you know that a plant's roots continue to grow in the same direction or configuration they started in? They taught us that if a plant's roots start spiraling, like when they grow in a pot, their roots will continue to spiral. This is a problem because the plant won't be able to stabilize itself or get proper nutrients. You can solve the problem by cutting the root just before the spiral starts, it will grow straight.

We learned many other techniques for digging, planting, and best practices while we lead teams. When we went inside the Audobaun Society's building, to begin learning the "classroom stuff," it started pouring outside. I was very thankful we were inside and not slipping around in the park. We'd gotten wet and muddy already but it was raining so hard it was like a waterfall shower head!

My first planting was the second weekend in January. I didn't want to take a weekend off from Target during fourth quarter, AKA the holiday shopping season. My memory was a little rusty but fortunately, we got a refresher before the other volunteers arrived. The location was in the middle of Beaverton, but it's tucked away near the MAX tracks. There were issues with erosion of a creek and they moved it over several feet. The city is in the process of building a walkway and we went in to plant trees and small plants to help prevent any more issues.

My group of volunteers was a 2nd grade cub scout pack and their dads. We then split into smaller groups and I ended up with three pairs of volunteers. The little guys were full of energy at 8 a.m. and had a blast digging the holes for our trees. Green Spaces doesn't normally plant large trees but this was a special project. It took two dads and me to move the trees into the holes once we dug them deep enough.

When we finished with our two trees and moved on to planting plugs along the slope of the creek. 

The terrain was a little rough in places but everyone stayed safe. There was one spot where I stood too long and almost got completely stuck. I'm glad for my boots because I had sunk so far, the mud was almost over them. I was able to pull my feet out without losing my footwear.

The tree the scouts and I planted.

It was a very muddy location!

Planting plugs along the bank will help keep the soil from eroding.

My second planting was at the end of January. It was a completely different area! There was a stream but we weren't near it. They had been working on this site for a while. In the picture below, you can see the ugly brown plants in the distance. They are an invasive, non-native species that completely covered the area before Friends of Trees began working in the area. While there was very little mud the ground is what I describe as "squooshy." It was mushy and my boots mad sucking sounds each time I took a step.

I had another scout troop and they were psyched to start digging. We planted shrubs this time, which was much easier for the kids. Basically, you put the shovel in the ground and wiggle it back and forth to make a pocket. Then you drop the shrub in, ensure the roots are under the ground, and fill in the pocket. It sprinkled a little and started really raining right when we finished cleaning up. 

I liked experiencing the vastly different locations that were both hidden in Beaverton. We only plant native plants and it's rewarding to see the land slowly changing back to what it's supposed to be. It's also rewarding to see the volunteers getting into the activities, especially the little ones.

You can't tell, but the spots without grass
are where we planted our shrubs.

We planted almost all the way down to those houses.