I recently took a wee trip across the pond to Oregon, on the beautiful Pacific West Coast, where I found myself roped in cheerfully joining a group of eager volunteers to plant trees at silly o’clock on a Valentine’s Day morning.
We met at the Cherry Blossom Park in Portland, where we gathered with 60+ volunteers and staff from Urban Forestry (Parks & Recreation) and the Neighbors of Cherry Blossom Park group.
This event was part of Portland’s Urban Forest Plan that seeks to protect, care for, and expand the city’s forests. Portland’s trees are crucial to the city’s infrastructure and are worth an estimated $9.5bn (£7.13bn)! Within the strategy, neighbourhoods can request their own trees and take part in their planting.
With instructions to ‘bring yourself, weather protection, and a water bottle!’ – I prepared myself for all seasons with full waterproofs, a good warm beanie (Oregonian style 101) and my trusty, rusty umbrella. When we arrived, all the tools and materials we needed were ready to go on-site. Volunteers received a good thirty minutes of very thorough demonstrative training, think Blue Peter ‘here’s one I made earlier’, plus the ever-important health & safety briefing.
We were treated to plenty of Valentine’s crafts and snacks, along with educational resources about native trees and local nature planning. There were even two mascots to cheer us on as we dug, staked and mulched: Drippy the Water Drop and Seymour the Salmon. Great fun (and only mildly terrifying). But I’ve got to say, Transition Tynedale are embarrassingly behind on the game when it comes to mascots… Perhaps even the whole of England is slacking.
These folk even had a Portaloo set up for us! Oooh la la.
In total, our volunteer team helped plant 11 healthy new trees in this Hazelwood Neighborhood park, increasing the tree canopy coverage area by 40%.
I for one certainly improved my tree planting techniques and met some absolutely wonderful humans. So, thank you Portland and best of luck to the baby trees. We’re rooting for you!
Over and out,
Ira Hakim
Did this twig your interest?
Read more about our day and the wider Portland Urban Forest Management Plan here
