We're in the full swing of summer, and that means full swing for Environmental Services' outreach team for trees.

You may have seen the team in action around your area.  Dressed in orange vests and carrying clipboards, team members like Tom, Amber and Pat canvass Portland neighborhoods to find available spots for street trees.  Then they work with residents to get trees planted through our partner, Friends of Trees, or other programs.  There are more than 130,000 available planting spaces for street trees in the neighborhoods they've canvassed so far.  That is a lot of opportunity to build Portland's green infrastructure for the next generation.

Thanks to great community partners and volunteers, Environmental Services has helped get more than 32,000 new trees planted since 2008.  When mature, these trees will be capturing an estimated 18 million gallons of rain before it turns into stormwater runoff.  That's good for our rivers, and we get lots of other benefits.

There are still plenty of open spots for street trees, so we need your help!  Our effort this summer is focused on areas with low tree canopy, particularly in East Portland, and offers subsidized trees to residents. Think you might have room for a street tree?  Give us a call at 503-823-TREE or call Friends of Trees directly at 503-282-8846.