Friends of Trees is a volunteer organization based in Eugene. Their mission is to create greener and more sustainable neighborhoods in the Eugene area. Trees guarantee many benefits, such as providing oxygen, offering shade, increasing property value, and decreasing air and soil pollution. Trees contain what some scientists refer to as “woody biomass” with plans to convert wood resources into heat, thus, creating energy. All these benefits, scientific projections, and the continuous planting of trees support the claim that trees are a renewable energy resource.
Last Saturday morning, 9AM on February 11th, the Friends of Trees volunteer crew took a step back after planting their first tree of the day in the south neighborhood of Eugene. Father and daughter watched their donated tree be planted in front of their home.Crew leader, Luke Callahan, demonstrated to the volunteers how to finish properly planting the tree by tying it to tall stakes, also planted into the ground. When he was asked which way to position the tree and its branches, the group consensus was, “Up is always good.”February 11th, in the neighborhood of Amazon Creek, the Friends of Trees volunteer crew filled in the extra room around the freshly planted tree with more soil. Neighbor, George Ayres, chatted with one of the crew leaders as his daughter oversaw the entire operation.February 11th, in the south neighborhood of Eugene, Friends of Trees volunteer, Brad Moore, rubbed his gloves together to loosen and scrape off the dirt and mud stuck to them. The last tree of the day planted.8:45AM on February 11th, the Friends of Trees non-profit organization welcomed all volunteers at the volunteer crew meeting. Once the different teams dispersed, team D crew leader, Destiny Pauls, and volunteer, Rachel Couch, carried one of the donated trees to the truck; soon this tree will be standing tall on its own.
Peyton Murry 