The connection was an easy one for me. For weeks I had been cycling past “Friends of Trees” signs in my neighborhood. I searched online for the name of the organization to find out more, and learned that Friends of Trees hosts a volunteer tree planting in Portland almost every Saturday. See them online at http://www.friendsoftrees.org/.
Being new to town, I reasoned that volunteering for Friends of Trees might result in a few new Friends of Carmen. It worked. About 20 volunteers showed up on a rainy morning at a city park near Portland.
We drank hot chocolate, munched on doughnuts, and got muddy while planting native trees, shrubs and ferns.
Our effort contributed to what Friends of Trees (and of Carmen) call Green Space Initiatives, reclaimed natural spaces in the city. According to the organization’s fall 2009 newspaper, Tree Connections, these planting expansions produce a visible greening of the city that is visible from space.
Once the ball was in motion, it was hard to stop volunteering. Word came from my family that my niece and nephew’s school needed a volunteer at the school’s butterfly garden. On a gorgeous sunny day in Portland, I joined a team of parents and students who weeded, shoveled and raked. Our goal was to help revive a garden of native plants that attract butterflies, including salal, milkweed and strawberry bushes. Students regularly visit the garden to learn about the life cycle of butterflies and the plants that support them.
No Impact Week has momentum. For me the week has stretched into a sort of No Impact Existence, where I am lined up for more volunteer activities than I bargained for and I have a heightened awareness that seems to color just about everything I do. I’m happy to say it might just result in a few more butterflies, as well.
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