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Community event
Join the Concordia Tree Team and neighbors as they celebrate the dedication of the Ainsworth Linear Arboretum.
Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 25, to attend the official dedication of the Ainsworth Linear Arboretum (ALA). After more than two decades of planting to diversify the original monoculture of Norway maples in the median, the Morton Arboreta Registry has recognized the strip from Fernhill Park to MLK Jr. Blvd as a Level 1 Arboretum. It is one of four in the Portland area. Hoyt Arboretum, Leach Botanical Garden, and the Concordia Learning Landscape Arboretum at the former Meek Elementary School are the others.
A morning tree walk by ALA founder and Neighborhood Tree Steward Jim Gersbach will kick off the day's event at 9am. Meet at the northeast corner of MLK Jr. Blvd and Ainsworth. That will be followed by a short 10:30am ceremony and commemorative tree planting (pending removal of a dead maple) in the block north of Alberta Park. There will be tree-themed crossword puzzles and a seed giveaway.
Immediately following the ceremony there will also be an opportunity to join a work party helping weed native shrubs and perennials in the three nearby median blocks.
In advance of the dedication, Urban Forestry has planted five new trees in the right-of-way on the north side of Alberta Park to replace trees that had died in recent years. Three of the trees have showy summer flowers, helping pollinators find food at a time when fewer trees are in bloom. The new trees are, from east to west:
- American hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana)
- Cascara (Frangula purshiana aka Rhamnus purshiana)
- Pink Dawn chitalpa (X Chitalpa tashkentensis ‘Pink Dawn')
- Goldenrain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata)
- Victoria southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora ‘Victoria')
Tree diversity in the median has increased over the past two decades from only six species in four genera and three families to 50 species in 30 genera representing 22 families. All trees are mapped and documented for the public. You can see photos and descriptions along with a map at ainsworthlineararboretum.org
At the website you can also sign up to adopt a young median tree to water over the summer. Concordia Tree Team (CTT) volunteers water many of the younger median trees after the establishment period by City contractors ends after three years. This extended watering encourages faster growth and reduces drought stress.
You can also join CTT volunteers this spring as they weed and mulch trees at the arboretum at the former Meek School. Look for announcements on the web page.