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.

Jim and his young assistant

Jim and Tim talk trees.

Karl hauls some compost.

Bryce digs in to the pile of compost.

Bryce and Alicia fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Volunteers of all ages came to help.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Jim signs the MoU.

Angel and Stacy catch up.

Melissa scoops mulch into the wheelbarrow.

Linda spreads some compost around a tree.

Loni is having a lot of fun spreading compost.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

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

The line of new trees next to N. Maple.

Jigmed wheels some mulch to where it’s needed.

Loni and Karl tend to a tree.

The tree-planting crew.

Stacy rakes out compost.

Andy of Spokane Urban Forestry gives some tips and instructions.

Bryce fills a wheelbarrow with mulch.

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

Jackie shovels some compost.

Tim and Bryce fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Andy and Bert deal with the shrinking pile of compost.

Jackie fills out a treegram.

Loni rakes some compost around a tree.

Tim fills out a treegram.

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.