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| URBAN FORESTRY |
July 2019, published twice a month
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| 2019 Flowering Tree Photo Contest Winner!
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| A beautiful magnolia tree in bloom in the Lents neighborhood of Portland. This winning photo was captured by Morgin Carpenter.
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| Thank you for all the submissions we received for this year's flowering tree photo contest! Every tree in Portland is spectacular in its own way, but only one can win the honor given to the most stunning (and most popular) flowering tree of 2019.
We are pleased to congratulate Morgin Carpenter for winning this season's photo contest! Popular vote determined that this Magnolia x soulangeana was the photo that best captured the springtime beauty of Portland's urban forest. All photographs from the contest can be found here.
If you missed out on the spring contest, keep an eye out for the Fall Foliage contest to be announced at the end of summer. The next winning photo could be yours!
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| Upcoming EventsOpportunities to learn and volunteer!
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Tree Inventory Workdays
Join Portland's largest civic science project and help us complete our inventory of every tree in neighborhood parks!
Join us at an upcoming workday to build your tree identification skills, learn hands-on forestry surveying techniques, and meet fellow tree huggers.
No experience necessary! A trained Team Leader will teach you everything you need to know.
Check out our workday calendar and be the next one to find an arboricultural oddity! Upcoming workdays:
Westmoreland Park, Saturday, 7/13/19, 8:30 am - noon Register here.
Woodstock Park, Saturday, 7/20/19, 8:30 am - noon Register here.
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Canopy Stories: Showing in Four Portland Theaters
July 9, 10, 11, 2019. All shows start at 7:00 pm.
Only three chances left to take in a documentary about Portland's trees made in Portland! See you there!
Canopy Stories is an anthology of films produced by local filmmakers at NW Documentary that tells the stories of 12 trees in Portland.
Each film focuses on a specific tree to tell a story. The stories range from activists stationed in trees to globe-trekking botanists in search of rare specimens, as well as everyday community members transforming their neighborhoods. View the trailer for the film here.
Get your tickets to a July showing before they are gone!Once you know the stories of the trees, you will never see the city in the same way.
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More Upcoming Events
7/13/2019, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm: Tabling at the Portland International Muslim Cultural Festival.
Join us on Saturday, July 13 as we share our love of the urban forest with the community at Director Park. This festival is described as "A step towards enriching the wider community's understanding of Islam through experiencing the diversity of the religion's followers." Sign up for a tabling shift here!
Now - 7/25/19, Peninsula Park Pop-Up Arboretum and Now - 8/8/19, Arbor Lodge Park Pop-up Arboretum: Our next two arboreta are now up and ready for your exploration! Look for informational signs attached to selected trees as you visit these two Portland parks.
Ongoing:Heritage Tree Photo Contest continues through December 1, 2019. Do you need to know how to find a Heritage Tree near you? Check out our map of all the Heritage Trees in town! Then remember to submit your photo here.
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| Summer Tree Care: Watering and Mulch
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| A five-gallon bucket with small holes to slowly release water is an easy and affordable option for watering your trees. Mulch piled up against tree trunks is bad for trees, avoid 'mulch volcanoes.'
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| Even with the unusual summer rain we have had so far, the United States Drought Monitor still shows much of Multnomah County under moderate drought conditions. This could mean big trouble for little trees!
Watering and mulching young trees are known as establishment care. Helping these trees today means many rewards for our urban forest in the future!
WATERINGWatering newly planted trees for the first three to five years will help prevent a drought-related death. It will also aid in the development of a strong root system, and will help the tree develop good form with healthy branches.
Too much or too little water is bad for young trees, so here are the basics:- Young trees need a minimum of 15 gallons of water per week, and sometimes up to 30 gallons, depending on the weather.
- A five-gallon bucket with three holes drilled on the side near the bottom of the bucket will deliver water slowly so that the roots get a good soaking. Use a 1/4-inch drill bit or larger to make the holes.
- Place the bucket near the trunk of your tree with the holes facing the trunk.
- Fill up the bucket with water three times per week during dry periods, and let the water slowly trickle into the root zone.
- Move the bucket to a different area within the root zone of your tree each time you fill it up.
MULCHINGProperly mulching trees can help to suppress grass and weeds, and reduce competition for resources. Mulch will also help the soil retain moisture longer, so tender young roots will not dry out as fast. Lawn mower and string trimmer damage to the trunks of trees is a major problem. Mulch can help keep these tools away from the tree. Finally, as the mulch breaks down over time, it can help to create a world of beneficial microbes for the tree's root system.
Now that we know WHY we mulch, here is how to do it:- Remove grass and weeds within three to four feet of the base of the tree. (Take care not to damage the tree's roots, since most of the roots are found within the top 18 inches of the soil.)
- Start three to four inches away from the trunk, apply a layer of wood chips about three to four inches deep.
- Extend the mulch layer out three to four feet for small trees, wider for large trees.
- Keep mulch off the trunk of the tree! Mulch volcanoes (pictured above) invite pests and diseases.
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In Other News
Community Outreach Coordinator Job Announcement: Johnson Creek Watershed Council is now hiring a Community Outreach Coordinator. The position will be 32-40 hours per week, with some evening and weekend hours as needed. Pay will be $18 per hour plus benefits. Application deadline: all materials must be received by 4:00 pm, Pacific time, Friday, July 26, 2019. For more information on the position, visit their website here.
Tornado Touches Down in Northeast Portland: On July 1, 2019, around 5:30 pm, a tornado hit Northeast Portland. It was approximately 40 yards wide with a peak wind speed of 80 miles per hour. According to the National Weather Service, this was only the fifth recorded tornado in Portland's history. Many trees, both large and small, were uprooted during the event. Read more about it here and here.
Free Webinar on Creating Equitable Career Pathways in Urban Forestry on July 10: Did you know that the U.S. Forest Service has a free monthly webinar series? Their next webinar will feature Sarah Anderson from American Forests and Devon Buskin from The Greening of Detroit to discuss strategies to create an equitable and diverse work force in urban forestry. Learn more and access the webinar here.
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