04/16/09 City Council Newsletter

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th 18Avenue. City staff helped coordinate the tour and set up the transportation and speakers at each site. The next workshop will be held on Thursday, April 30. For more information, contact Parks and Open Space Environmental Regulations Coordinator Rachel Burr at 682-4944, or rachel.a.burr@ci.eugene.or.us. th Arbor Day Tree Planting Celebrates 30 Tree City USA Award On Saturday, April 11, close to 100 community members gathered downtown to celebrate Arbor Day. Mayor Kitty Piercy helped kick off the celebration in front of Balzhiser & Hubbard th Engineers by accepting Eugene’s 30 consecutive Tree City USA award from State Forester Marvin Brown. Tree City USA, a program of the National Arbor Day Foundation and sponsored by the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), recognizes cities that have developed programs that plant and care for trees. The volunteer team that planted 30 trees around th the block at 13 Avenue and Olive included members of the Eugene Tree Foundation, REI staff, Boy Scouts of Oregon Trail Council Pack 26, Tree Stewards, and nearby residents. Tree pruning demonstrations were given by volunteer Tree Mayor Piercy and State Forester Marvin Brown, help volunteers plant a Stewards. tree on Arbor Day at the old downtown library site. The “Trees for Concrete” project in honor of Arbor Day was organized by the City of Eugene’s NeighborWoods program and the Eugene Tree Foundation in an effort to create a more livable and green urban environment. Crews from Public Works Maintenance excavated sections of concrete sidewalks creating planting areas for the street trees. For more information about Arbor Day or NeighborWoods projects, including Tree Stewards, contact NeighborWoods Coordinator Rick Olkowski at 682- 4831 or Urban Forester Mark Snyder at 682-4819. City Information Booths at Earth Day Celebration th The 11 annual Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 18, at EWEB’s River Edge Plaza will have something for everyone. This year’s event theme is “Small Steps, Big Changes” and features educational activity booths, the John H. Baldwin Film and Lecture Series, a music stage, the Procession of All Species, and much more. What better time to discover what makes the Eugene- Springfield area such a great place to live. Staff from several City of Eugene programs will share information with attendees, and Mayor Kitty Piercy will be the opening speaker at the Earth Day Celebration at 11:30 a.m. The Public Works Stormwater Management Program will be on hand to register canines and their companions for the Canines for Clean Water program. This pledge-based program offers a free bandana to dog owners who pledge to clean up after their pooches and prevent waste from entering local storm drains. A photo display will be featured with registered canines wearing their signature bandanas. In addition, free canine coloring pages will be available to booth visitors. The City of Eugene Solid Waste and Green Building program will be rolling out its new program, guide2Green, this weekend. The guide2Green program provides technical support, education, and incentives to encourage green building and waste prevention practices in Eugene. As part of the kick-off, staff will be giving out reusable grocery bags to the first 200 visitors who complete a short survey. City staff will share a large booth with the OSU Extension Service compost specialists where kids can take a turn at the worm wheel and win gummy worms when answering questions on composting. Everyone who stops by can enter a raffle to win an Earth Machine backyard composter. For more information about City participation at the Earth Day Celebration at EWEB Plaza, contact Public Works Public Information Specialist Kathy Eva at 682-2739, or visit www.earthdayoregon. Event hours are 11:00 a.m. to EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4 April 16, 2009