Roughly one dozen volunteers turned out today for the tree-planting event on N. Maple street.

Representatives from the Office of Neighborhood Services and Spokane Urban Forestry were there to lend a hand, and Nancy MacKerrow of The Susie Forest attended with cookies and “treegrams” to allow the planters’ wishes to flourish along with the trees.

Bryce digs in to the pile of compost.

Loni is having a lot of fun spreading compost.

Andy of Spokane Urban Forestry gives some tips and instructions.

Loni and Karl tend to a tree.

Tim and Bryce fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Jackie shovels some compost.

Jigmed wheels some mulch to where it’s needed.

Tim fills out a treegram.

Linda spreads some compost around a tree.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Jackie fills out a treegram.

Jim, Bert and Tim figure out who’s next on shovel duty.

Jim signs the MoU.

The tree-planting crew.

Andy and Bert deal with the shrinking pile of compost.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Angel and Stacy catch up.

Angel of Spokane Urban Forestry and Nancy MacKerrow of the Susie Forest.

The line of new trees next to N. Maple.

Jim and Tim talk trees.

Melissa scoops mulch into the wheelbarrow.

Loni rakes some compost around a tree.

Stacy rakes out compost.

Karl hauls some compost.

Bryce and Alicia fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Jim and his young assistant

Bryce fills a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Volunteers of all ages came to help.

This marks the first important step in dealing with this stretch of property on N. Maple. The Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council hopes to work with the city to install stormwater improvements, sidewalks and more plantings in the relatively near future.