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.

Linda spreads some compost around a tree.

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

Loni is having a lot of fun spreading compost.

Jackie fills out a treegram.

Andy and Bert deal with the shrinking pile of compost.

Jim and his young assistant

Angel and Stacy catch up.

Loni and Karl tend to a tree.

Loni rakes some compost around a tree.

Tim and Bryce fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Jigmed wheels some mulch to where it’s needed.

Stacy rakes out compost.

Tim fills out a treegram.

Jim and Tim talk trees.

Melissa scoops mulch into the wheelbarrow.

Bryce digs in to the pile of compost.

Jackie shovels some compost.

Andy of Spokane Urban Forestry gives some tips and instructions.

Jim signs the MoU.

The line of new trees next to N. Maple.

Karl hauls some compost.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

The tree-planting crew.

Bryce and Alicia fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

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

Bryce fills a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Volunteers of all ages came to help.

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.