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.

Loni is having a lot of fun spreading compost.

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

Jackie shovels some compost.

Linda spreads some compost around a tree.

Jim signs the MoU.

Jackie fills out a treegram.

Angel and Stacy catch up.

Bryce and Alicia fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Stacy rakes out compost.

Jim and Tim talk trees.

Andy of Spokane Urban Forestry gives some tips and instructions.

Tim fills out a treegram.

The line of new trees next to N. Maple.

Jim and his young assistant

Jigmed wheels some mulch to where it’s needed.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Karl hauls some compost.

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

Melissa scoops mulch into the wheelbarrow.

Bryce fills a wheelbarrow with mulch.

The tree-planting crew.

Loni and Karl tend to a tree.

Andy and Bert deal with the shrinking pile of compost.

Volunteers of all ages came to help.

Tim and Bryce fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Loni rakes some compost around a tree.

Bryce digs in to the pile of 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.