Alicia Bemiss-Powell

Freezing temperatures bump some Greening projects back

Alicia Bemiss-Powell, Neighborhood Services and Code Enforcement, No Phone Number Available

Monday, November 17, 2014 at 11:31 a.m.

Freezing temperatures bump some Greening projects back

Plans to add greenery to Spokane's neighborhoods started to take shape this fall, but freezing conditions have delayed some Greening Neighborhoods plantings until the spring.

Eleven neighborhoods applied over the summer for the Greening Neighborhoods Grants to plant trees, shrubs, perennials and more. The grants are part of the Forest Spokane initiative, an effort to plant 10,000 new trees by 2016. The neighborhoods had to submit their ideas for Greening projects along with plans to get those projects implemented through volunteer events.

In early November, a number of volunteers in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood planted mulch around new trees and planted donated spring bulbs on 35th Avenue between Freya and Ray Streets. Three other neighborhoods – Emerson-Garfield, Northwest, and Five Mile – had planned events this fall, too, but Mother Nature intervened before those neighborhoods could get their trees in the ground. Those plantings will be moved back to the spring.

Here are volunteer events scheduled for the next planting season:

  • Emerson-Garfield – Planting and mulching select trees in the neighborhood between 2412-2434 N. Stevens and 2100-2431 N. Atlantic
  • Emerson-Garfield – Planting 64 perennial plants at the Maple Street Island
  • Northwest – Applying three inches of mulch to 26 newly planted street trees on Driscoll Boulevard
  • Five Mile – Applying three inches of mulch to newly planted trees at the north and south entrance of Sky Prairie Park
  • Chief Garry Park – Volunteers will plant a perennial butterfly garden on public right-of-way property at Christ the King Church. This site also features a newly developed community garden
  • East Central – Tree and perennial vegetation planting (2003 E. 1st)
  • East Central – Work at Eastside Day Care will involve a Japanese Pagoda tree planted this fall and a perennial butterfly garden for the daycare.
  • Latah/Hangman - Friends of the Bluff will organize a second phase of riparian planting along Latah Creek.
  • Logan – Planting trees and perennial vegetation at Logan Elementary with the help of Moody Bible Institute student volunteers
  • North Hill - The project will feature seven new street trees along Garland near Post. Perennial vegetation will be planted at the base of each tree.
  • West Central – The Neighborhood will be planting Ponderosa Pine trees near Summit and Boone.

If you're interested in helping out at one of more of these events, check back with SpokaneCity.org for more information on dates and times. You can also contact your neighborhood council. Planting season usually begins the last week in March when temperatures are more consistently above freezing.

The Greening Neighborhoods Grant Program is set up through the City's Neighborhood Services Department.

  • Wheelbarrow
  • Planting trees - Green coat volunteer
  • Pine Tree

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