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.

The line of new trees next to N. Maple.

Stacy rakes out compost.

Bryce fills a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Tim and Bryce fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

Jim and Tim talk trees.

Tim fills out a treegram.

Jim and his young assistant

Karl hauls some compost.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Jackie shovels some compost.

Andy and Bert deal with the shrinking pile of compost.

Jigmed wheels some mulch to where it’s needed.

Linda spreads some compost around a tree.

Andy of Spokane Urban Forestry gives some tips and instructions.

Jim signs the MoU.

Volunteers of all ages came to help.

The tree-planting crew.

A treegram hangs from one of the branches.

Loni is having a lot of fun spreading compost.

Angel and Stacy catch up.

Melissa scoops mulch into the wheelbarrow.

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

Jackie fills out a treegram.

Bryce digs in to the pile of compost.

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

Loni and Karl tend to a tree.

Loni rakes some compost around a tree.

Bryce and Alicia fill a wheelbarrow with mulch.

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.