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Friends of Trees volunteers improve neighborhood livability with the planting of a tree.
Growing Neighborhoods
O pinion
C lassifieds
H ealth
pages 18-19
pages 10-13
page 17
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 o f Trees has been contracted by the
City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Ser
vices to oversee the tree planting, which will
concentrate on neighborhoods on the east side
of the Willamette River.
The non-profit 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 o f 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 encour
aged to buy their trees now for greater selec
tion. 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.