TD gets great turnout for tree planting & community clean up
Groups joining the Columbia Gorge Motors and Beutification Committee’s clean-up were the Riverfront Trail Board, North Wasco County Parks and Recreation Board, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and The Dalles Lions.
By Tom Peterson
The Dalles, Ore., Oct. 14, 2023 - Thirty-plus volunteers turned out this morning for the community clean up as four different groups brought in the ringers for a primo pickup of trash. And at the same time, The Dalles Beautification Committee Tree Grant Program put 26 maples into local hands for planting around The Dalles.
At the heart of it, it is refreshing to see neighbors and friends coming together to make an overall improvement to the community and possibly motivate others who see them to think about what they might do to make The Dalles a better place to live.
Both groups met at Thompson Park near The Dalles Aquatic Center at 10 a.m.
Groups joining the Columbia Gorge Motors and Beautification Committee’s clean-up were the Riverfront Trail Board, North Wasco County Parks and Recreation Board, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and The Dalles Lions.
Rachel Carter with Columbia Gorge Motors was beside herself at the number of folks who turned out but quickly put people into four groups, so they could pick up trash on the Sixth Street Bridge, Second Street, and Sixth Street.
There is one more cleanup left this year. It will be the second Saturday in November - meet at 10 a.m. at Thompson Park in The Dalles. For more information about volunteering, call Rachel at (208) 757-3632
Meanwhile, just a few short feet away, The Beautification Committee was also handing out maple trees for the locals who applied for them through the committee’s grant program.
Aaron Bostic, 48, of The Dalles was there to pick up trees for two different rental properties - one on East 13th and another on West 10th Street.
Autumn Blaze Maple
Bostic said the properties get “scorching hot” during the summer and the shade of the maples will be welcome to his tenants as well as the neighbors. Bostic received one “Autumn Blaze” and two “October Glories”
“I always wanted to put trees on these sites. And tenants are excited to get trees in their yards,” he said.
“Saturday was a joyful and “green” day at Thompson Park in The Dalles. City residents selected as recipients for the first ever residential tree grant program picked up their trees, twenty six in all,” said Janet Kavanagh, Z President of The Beautification and Tree Committee. “The committee opened the application process in early summer, offering a choice of four hardy and attractive trees to be planted in parking strips or front yards. It will be a delight to watch them grow, providing ever-increasing shade and beauty, habitat for birds and other critters, cooling the environment, and many other benefits.”
Beautification Committee President Janet Kavanagh, local Aaron Bostic and Committee Vice Chair John Nelson love on these trees for a moment before they were doled out to locals at not cost to improve The Dalles in several different ways.
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