City receives Oregon Trees grant for Arbor Week

The first event will be a tree planting April 27 along Rand Road between Sherman and Cascade Streets. The event starts at 1 p.m.

At Waterfront Park, volunteers will hand out information to the public about the benefits of trees, tree care, and tree protection during construction.

At an upcoming city council meeting, local developers will be recognized with awards for outstanding tree protection.

The City Tree Committee is purchasing tree watering bags to loan out to developers, businesses, and homeowners associations to establish newly planted trees.

The city is using the Oregon Community Trees grant to purchase the trees and reusable tree-watering bags, the awards for developers, and a banner.

In the grant application, Susan Hess, chair of Hood River’s Tree Committee wrote, “In a fast-growing city like Hood River, the rush to build often means care of trees is not a high priority. There has also been a lot of cutting trees down for a view. We think this event will heighten the community’s awareness of the importance and benefits of trees. It is also important to recognize developers who take excellent care of trees, providing adequate space for them and protecting them during construction.”

The organization promotes healthy urban and community forests and assists community groups, local governments and schools in the state with expertise and grants that support leadership, education, awareness and advocacy for urban and community forestry. One criteria for the grant is being a Tree City USA, a status Hood River has held for six years.