instead of the city selecting them, in hopes that
folks feel more connected to the trees on their
street. "We also offer one-on-one support with
businesses and homeowners to ensure the right
tree is planted in the right place, along with
follow-up care, including pruning, mulching,
and summer inspections," Catani says.
One way the City thanks volunteers is by giving
them, at the April Arbor Day event, a native
tree or shrub; for example, cascara (Frangula
purshiana), a deciduous Pacific Northwest
native understory tree (reaching 30 feet/9.1 m
in ideal conditions). Beaverton uses cascara
as a street tree for its soils- and sun-shade
flexibility, for its attractive upright-oval shape
and yellow or orange-red fall color, and for
its berries that are favored by songbirds.
Another noteworthy Beaverton program is its
Street of Trees tour that showcases 138 species
the City recommends for urban use. Lane's pre-
decessor and former boss Pat Hoff was keenly
interested in educating the public through these
displays. The Street of Trees came about in the
1990s as a collaboration of the City of Beaverton
with grant funds provided by the Oregon State
Department of Forestry in cooperation with the
U.S. Forest Service. "We thank former Mayor
Larry Cole for his inspiration and support of this
project," Lane says. In 2021, Lane and the City GIS
team digitized the Street of Trees tour brochure
and created a story map with current photos.
Also notable are Beaverton's two municipal
arboreta, Wonderland Arboretum and Spencer
Homestead Arboretum. Wonderland was a
18 CityTREES
For two decades, Friends of Trees has been coordinating and
training volunteers for Beaverton's tree planting events.
