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Tree Bark
News from Urban Forestry — All Trees, No Pulp • December 19, 2025
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Celebrating Fall with Heritage Trees
 This October, our urban trees displayed a spectacular seasonal show in brilliant autumn hues. Portland’s Heritage Trees are majestic all year-round, but many become showstoppers in the fall. Check out our small photo collection Heritage Tree Fall Photos.
Featured in the album:
- Heritage Tree #342, a stately English walnut
- Heritage Tree #238, a vibrant scarlet oak
- Heritage Tree #69, an American elm with amber leaves
- Heritage Tree #7, a European beech with a rich copper display
- Heritage Tree #48, a dazzling tupelo with red and orange foliage
- Heritage Tree #262, a tulip tree with striking yellow-gold leaves
- Heritage Tree #322, a handsome common horsechestnut
These trees aren't just beautiful landmarks; they're living connections to our community history and natural heritage. Consider sharing your photos and stories with us on social media or by email at parks.heritagetree@portlandoregon.gov.
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Fall Photo Contest Winners
 Photo by Sarah May Wasserman
The time has finally come to announce the winners of the Fall Photo Contest. Congratulations to Sarah May Wasserman and Mary Ann Ware for their winning contributions. Thank you to all who participated in the competition. You can check out all the entries in our Flickr album.
We hope this collection of photos inspires you to slow down and appreciate the beauty of the trees around you every day.
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Caring for Trees During Winter
 Winter is just around the corner, and you know what that means: the possibility of tree damage from ice and snow. Trees are resilient and can usually handle a little bit of winter weather. However, even the most resilient trees can benefit from some extra care before the snow starts to fall.
That’s why Urban Forestry encourages property owners to get their trees professionally maintained, now, to reduce the possibility of any major damage this upcoming season. Care from a qualified arborist is essential to improving tree structure for maximum stability, clearing out damaged or dying limbs, and even identifying hazardous trees that need to come down.
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Tree Planting with Friends of Trees
 Photo by Friends of Trees
Saturday, December 6, marked the first planting as a part of Urban Forestry’s new contract with Friends of Trees. One hundred community members gathered in North Portland to plant 115 trees. Volunteers gathered at César Chávez School in the morning to enjoy coffee and snacks, divide up into crews, and load up their tools and trees. There were 21 crews that planted trees in the right-of-way and on private property in six neighborhoods across North Portland.
In addition to planting trees, there were speakers from Verde and César Chávez School. Portland City Councilor Sameer Kanal also joined the festivities. Other notable partners for the day included Connecting Canopies, Verde and the Líderes Verdes team, and the Blueprint Foundation.
After the planting, community members returned to the school to enjoy food from local vendors Sesame Donuts, Coco Donuts, Signal Station Pizza, and La Oaxaqueña.
Thanks to all who came out to support this planting. This is the first of four plantings in partnership with Friends of Trees.
Other dates include:
- January 17
- March 7
- March 21
Be sure to check out their website to sign up for the next planting opportunities.
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Upcoming Events
Black Environmentalism in Portland Talk
Saturday, January 24, 2026, 3 to 4:30pm
North Portland Library (512 N Killingsworth St, Portland, OR 97217)
Join Urban Forestry to hear stories of Black community members and environmental projects in the Portland area, especially the Albina neighborhood. Following that, learn about current groups working to increase the Black community’s connection to nature within the city.
This event is a part of Everybody Reads by the Multnomah County Library. Occurring from January to March 2026, Everybody Reads is a community-wide project that promotes shared reading and discussion around a single book: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s “Lovely One.”
Explore the themes of the book through events and discussions. Check the events calendar for information. Everybody Reads 2026 is made possible by gifts to The Library Foundation with the author’s appearance made possible by Literary Arts.
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Other News
Check out Urban Forestry's New Volunteer Event Platform
This is your friendly reminder that Urban Forestry is using a new site to host our volunteer event registrations. On this platform you will make an account and be able to continue signing up for future Urban Forestry events while also having access to all other PP&R events in the same place. While you wait for the first events to be posted, make an account and explore the new system today!
Connecting Central American Forests to North American Birds
What’s the connection between the forests of the eastern United States and those in Central America? The answer: birds. The common migratory birds that one sees in the spring and summer in regions like the Appalachians, the Mississippi Delta, the Great Lakes, and New England are supported over the winter by five great forests in Central America, from southern Mexico to northern Colombia. Research from the Wildlife Conservation Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology shows how climate change and deforestation in countries like Costa Rica can impact the health of bird populations in the U.S.
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