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Mayor Recognizes E-G, Announces Tree Initiative

Mayor Recognizes E-G, Announces Tree Initiative

Yesterday Spokane Mayor David Condon launched a new initiative to beautify neighborhoods with the addition of trees and green infrastructure.

The line of new trees next to N. Maple.That initiative, called Forest Spokane, is an effort to plant, protect and appreciate the trees that paint a canopy of vibrant colors in our city. The goal is to plant 10,000 new trees over the next two years as part of a broader integrated stormwater management effort.

Spokane was also honored today as a Tree City USA community by the national Arbor Day Foundation. It is one of 3,400 cities so recognized for the time, focus and commitment to establishing, maintaining and growing its urban forest.

As a jumpstart to Forest Spokane, the City will hand out 300 seedlings to City Hall visitors next week. The mayor also announced the reinvigoration of the Tree of Life program as another way to add new trees to our neighborhoods across the City.

The Tree of Life program traces its roots back nearly 20 years as a community effort to replace aging and damaged trees and add to Spokane’s colorful canopy. Over the years, school students, community organizations and corporations have rallied efforts to plant trees.

Names of contributors are commemorated on a carved wood and bronze Tree of Life sculpture at the top of the stairs to the City Council Chambers in recognition of their efforts. The mayor added a golden leaf to the Tree of Life to recognize the work of a dozen Emerson-Garfield neighborhood volunteers who planted trees on North Maple Street last Saturday as part of Spokane Gives.

Information about how to get involved in the tree planting effort is available at SpokaneUrbanForestry.org.

Photos from the Tree Planting on N. Maple

Photos from the Tree Planting on N. Maple

The line of new trees next to N. Maple.
The line of new trees next to N. Maple.
Jim and Tim talk trees.
Jim and Tim talk trees.
Loni and Karl tend to a tree.
Loni and Karl tend to a tree.
Linda spreads some compost around a tree.
Linda spreads some compost around a tree.
Jackie fills out a treegram.
Jackie fills out a treegram.
Angel of Spokane Urban Forestry and Nancy MacKerrow of the Susie Forest.
Angel of Spokane Urban Forestry and Nancy MacKerrow of the Susie Forest.
Tim and Bryce fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.
Tim and Bryce fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.
Stacy rakes out compost.
Stacy rakes out compost.
Melissa scoops mulch into the wheelbarrow.
Melissa scoops mulch into the wheelbarrow.
A treegram hangs from one of the branches.
A treegram hangs from one of the branches.
Jim, Bert and Tim figure out who's next on shovel duty.
Jim, Bert and Tim figure out who’s next on shovel duty.
Volunteers of all ages came to help.
Volunteers of all ages came to help.
The tree-planting crew.
The tree-planting crew.
Bryce and Alicia fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.
Bryce and Alicia fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.
Jigmed wheels some mulch to where it's needed.
Jigmed wheels some mulch to where it’s needed.
Karl hauls some compost.
Karl hauls some compost.
Bryce digs in to the pile of compost.
Bryce digs in to the pile of compost.
Angel and Stacy catch up.
Angel and Stacy catch up.
Andy and Bert deal with the shrinking pile of compost.
Andy and Bert deal with the shrinking pile of compost.
Loni rakes some compost around a tree.
Loni rakes some compost around a tree.
Andy of Spokane Urban Forestry gives some tips and instructions.
Andy of Spokane Urban Forestry gives some tips and instructions.
A treegram hangs from one of the branches.
A treegram hangs from one of the branches.
Tim fills out a treegram.
Tim fills out a treegram.
Jim signs the MoU.
Jim signs the MoU.
Bryce fills a wheelbarrow with mulch.
Bryce fills a wheelbarrow with mulch.
Jim and his young assistant
Jim and his young assistant
Loni is having a lot of fun spreading compost.
Loni is having a lot of fun spreading compost.
Jackie shovels some compost.
Jackie shovels some compost.
Materials for the April 9 EGNC Meeting

Materials for the April 9 EGNC Meeting

Join the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council when they meet tonight (Wednesday, April 9) at 7pm in the Corbin Senior Center (827 W Cleveland). It’s a lighter agenda than the past two meetings, but there are some important items.

The top item will be voting on the North Hill Neighborhood’s proposed developer agreement for the city-owned property on Cora at the base of the N. Monroe Hill. You can find that agreement as an appendix in this month’s agenda. We ask that you please familiarize yourself with that document beforehand to avoid prolonging the meeting.

The second important item is elections. Our secretary is dead set on stepping down after four years in the role, and though his shoes will be tough ones to fill, we’re hoping the right candidate will do so.

Don Waller, President of the Spokane Firefighters Union IAFF 29C will be one of the two guest speakers. Fulcrum Institute canceled because they wanted to develop their project more fully before addressing neighborhoods, but Alicia Powell of the Office of Neighborhood Services will be taking their place to finalize the scheduled tree-planting on N. Maple on April 19.

In addition to addressing some recent resident concerns, there will also be updates on the annual Spring Cleanup event, scheduled for May 10.

Download the April 9 meeting materials here:

We look forward to seeing you there!

Tree Planting on Maple Street

Tree Planting on Maple Street

Thanks to the legwork and support of engaged residents, one of the corners of our neighborhood that has become a priority for the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council is the Maple Street area — specifically, the two-block stretch where it curves and splits into a residential/arterial street.

The oddly shaped (shoestring-thin in the middle, bulbed at either end) piece of land that divides the residential stretch from the arterial is a problem for a number of reasons. It’s untended and generates dust. It doesn’t offer a contiguous pedestrian pathway. It is a frequent accident site on account of speeding and adverse weather conditions. And it’s ugly as sin.

The proposed tree-planting site.
The proposed tree-planting site in all its dusty glory.

To start addressing some of those problems immediately, we’ve recently arranged to have street trees planted on the strip. The proposed locations and tree varieties (e.g., ponderosa pine, lilac, wireless Zelkova, tuliptree) are pictured below. These will help root some of the dust and provide a natural sound and sight buffer between traffic and the nearby homes.

Proposed varieties and locations for street tree planting on Maple Street. Click for a larger view.
Proposed varieties and locations for street tree planting on Maple Street. Click for a larger view.

The next step will be to have some native grasses or flowers planted and sidewalks installed. Later we’d like to see a pedestrian crosswalk across Maple and Ash in line with Euclid. This is a tricky spot, though, so we have met with city engineers and are working with them to figure out the optimal solution for vehicles, residents and pedestrians.

It’s taken the involvement of quite a few organizations and individuals just to get this far: Maple Street residents, the EGNC, Spokane Urban Forestry, the city traffic department and the Office of Neighborhood Services. The EGNC alone is contributing about $3500 from its Community Development Block Grant street-tree fund to help things along. The reassuring news is that, ever since the project gathered steam, it has seen very rapid progress.

As things stand, the site will be prepped for planting on April 17 or 18, and then the trees will be planted by neighborhood volunteers on Saturday, April 19 under the supervision of a certified arborist. This will be kinda sorta part of the wider Spokane Gives initiative.

If you’re interested in learning more about this neighborhood improvement or you’d like to lend a hand during tree planting, please leave a comment below or attend the next Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting on Wednesday, April 9. And we not only welcome but encourage similar proposals from residents all over Emerson-Garfield.

October Neighborhood Planning Workshop Recap

October Neighborhood Planning Workshop Recap

On behalf of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Planning committee, we’d like to give a big shout out to everyone who participated in last night’s important workshop!

WORKSHOP_PANO

We had a very spirited crowd of about 50 neighbors and a few business owners, who came together to contribute their unique perspective to creating the vision for our neighborhood and what issues need our attention to attain that vision! It was an incredibly valuable and inspiring evening, and we hope even more neighbors will plan on participating in the follow-up workshop on Thursday, November 14.

Our youngest planner
Our youngest planner in action!

We left the night with a healthy amount of data reflecting areas of the neighborhood in need of attention, and a strong voice to what our priorities should be as we move ahead with planning.

Beautification of North Monroe was a common theme, as was better support for alternative modes of transportation (including bus shelters and bike routes), incentives for desirable businesses to occupy currently vacant buildings, more neighborhood events and improved methods of crime prevention (such as better lighting, more organized Neighborhood Watch, and awareness training).

In collaboration with our planning firm, AHBL, and the City of Spokane, your planning committee will be hard at work organizing this data and preparing for our next workshop, which will focus on brainstorming and prioritizing solutions to the issues that were identified last night.

Please, plan on joining us and help us create a plan that is as representative of your voice and the voice of our neighborhood as possible!