Join Columbia Slough Watershed Council for a free educational urban tree walk this spring! Local leaders and tree experts Brittany Gadbury, Ryan Gilpin, and Thomas Meinzen will facilitate conversations about the trees between NE Ainsworth Street and NE Alberta Street. The canopy here reflects the reality of racist historical zoning and neighborhood design in NE Portland. The trees here tell stories about the past that can be felt today and force us to talk about people and trees in the city. Join us for a dynamic, outdoor conversation bouncing from tree to tree, story to story, street to street. This event is free and open to all ages.
What to bring: Pack along water and snacks if you’d like. Drinks and light snacks will also be provided. Wear shoes comfortable for walking.
Getting There: We will meet at the NE corner of Alberta Park (NE 19th Ave and NE Ainsworth) in NE Portland. Free neighborhood parking will be available. Taking public transportation? Bus lines 8, 17, and 72 make stops near the park.
Accessibility: The group will be walking along flat paved paths and potentially some flat dirt paths. No public restroom access.
Questions or want to be added to a waiting list? Reach out to Amanda, at amanda.gallegos@columbiaslough.org.
Brittany Gadbury is a NW grown, rain-obsessed, book nerd who has been immersed in community resource development and advocacy for over a decade. She’s honored to work in Urban Forestry’s Community Stewardship, supporting our tree ecosystem, population health, and community stories. Britt's education is in the arts and geopolitics, with postgraduate study at Manipal University in Karnataka, India in Peace and Gandhian Studies. Outside of work, she cooks, folds laundry, plays tennis, and outlines a book about African Americans in forestry.
Ryan Gilpin is a consulting arborist, founder of Nidus Consulting, and trip leader on bird walks throughout the Columbia Slough watershed. Ryan is chair of the Tree Care for Birds committee, has written Best Management Practices for arborists to minimize impacts to nesting birds and trains arborists to improve habitat in urban forests.
Thomas Meinzen is the Neighborhood Trees Specialist in North Portland & Vancouver for Friends of Trees. In addition to organizing tree planting efforts, Thomas is the Operations Director for the Vanport Placemarking Project and created theVanport History Audioboxes. Thomas is also an avid bicycle birder and transit user, and leads bird, butterfly, and dragonfly walks for the Columbia Slough Watershed Council.
