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.

Stacy rakes out compost.

Bryce and Alicia fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Jim and Tim talk trees.

The tree-planting crew.

Jackie fills out a treegram.

Angel and Stacy catch up.

Jackie shovels some compost.

The line of new trees next to N. Maple.

Tim fills out a treegram.

Bryce digs in to the pile of compost.

Andy of Spokane Urban Forestry gives some tips and instructions.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Loni is having a lot of fun spreading compost.

Andy and Bert deal with the shrinking pile of compost.

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

Jigmed wheels some mulch to where it’s needed.

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

Jim and his young assistant

Melissa scoops mulch into the wheelbarrow.

Bryce fills a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Tim and Bryce fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Loni and Karl tend to a tree.

Karl hauls some compost.

Volunteers of all ages came to help.

Jim signs the MoU.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Linda spreads some compost around a tree.

Loni rakes some compost around a tree.

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.