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.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Jackie shovels some compost.

Bryce fills a wheelbarrow with mulch.

The line of new trees next to N. Maple.

Bryce digs in to the pile of compost.

Loni and Karl tend to a tree.

Jim and Tim talk trees.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Melissa scoops mulch into the wheelbarrow.

Loni rakes some compost around a tree.

Stacy rakes out compost.

Andy and Bert deal with the shrinking pile of compost.

Jackie fills out a treegram.

Karl hauls some compost.

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

Bryce and Alicia fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Tim fills out a treegram.

Linda spreads some compost around a tree.

Jim and his young assistant

Jim signs the MoU.

Tim and Bryce fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Volunteers of all ages came to help.

Angel and Stacy catch up.

Jigmed wheels some mulch to where it’s needed.

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

The tree-planting crew.

Andy of Spokane Urban Forestry gives some tips and instructions.

Loni is having a lot of fun spreading compost.

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.