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.

Volunteers of all ages came to help.

Angel and Stacy catch up.

Stacy rakes out compost.

The tree-planting crew.

Loni and Karl tend to a tree.

Jim signs the MoU.

Bryce fills a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Jackie shovels some compost.

Loni rakes some compost around a tree.

Jackie fills out a treegram.

Andy and Bert deal with the shrinking pile of compost.

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

Jim and Tim talk trees.

Tim and Bryce fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

The line of new trees next to N. Maple.

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

Jigmed wheels some mulch to where it’s needed.

Bryce digs in to the pile of compost.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Tim fills out a treegram.

Loni is having a lot of fun spreading compost.

Bryce and Alicia fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Melissa scoops mulch into the wheelbarrow.

Linda spreads some compost around a tree.

Jim and his young assistant

Karl hauls some compost.

Andy of Spokane Urban Forestry gives some tips and instructions.

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.