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.

Angel and Stacy catch up.

Jackie shovels some compost.

Bryce and Alicia fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Jim and his young assistant

Jigmed wheels some mulch to where it’s needed.

Loni and Karl tend to a tree.

Andy and Bert deal with the shrinking pile of compost.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Bryce digs in to the pile of compost.

Tim and Bryce fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Volunteers of all ages came to help.

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

Melissa scoops mulch into the wheelbarrow.

Linda spreads some compost around a tree.

Bryce fills a wheelbarrow with mulch.

The tree-planting crew.

Andy of Spokane Urban Forestry gives some tips and instructions.

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

Karl hauls some compost.

Stacy rakes out compost.

Loni rakes some compost around a tree.

The line of new trees next to N. Maple.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Jackie fills out a treegram.

Jim and Tim talk trees.

Tim fills out a treegram.

Jim signs the MoU.

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.