Helping a Community in Crisis

This Arbor Day, we’re planting the seeds for a brighter future, by taking our tree planting efforts to the next level. Through our partners at The Arbor Day Foundation, for every EC30 purchase you make from April 30th-May 2nd, we’ll plant five trees in support of a project we’re particularly excited about – the Pacific Northwest’s Columbia River Basin.

Nearly half of Oregon’s 500,000-acre North Santiam Watershed was affected by the 2020 Beachie Creek and Lionshead fires, destroying over 1500 structures and generating hazardous materials, sedimentary erosion and toxic runoff into sensitive waterways. The fires destroyed over 500 homes, forcing families to relocate to nearby towns without any of their possessions. City councilwoman Michele Tesdale recounted the moment she knew her family had to flee, “My husband is a firefighter, and he knew that there was no hope for our home. Our family had to escape. We are now living in Detroit but want to do everything we can to get back into the Canyon.”

As part of a multi-year project to undo the effects of deforestation and industrialization on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, trees planted in three critical areas will improve water quality, restore wildlife habitats, and support recreation and watershed health. The end result will be a healthy riparian (river-adjacent) ecosystem that promotes abundant salmon runs and counteracts the drastic decline of the salmon population in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Earlier this spring, the North Santiam Watershed Council, with the support of the Arbor Day Foundation, distributed more than 39,000 native plants to over 128 landowners – part of an ongoing larger regional effort to put over 936,000 native plants into the ground in 2021 as a part of long-term watershed conservation and restoration of the affected area. Planned plantings are set to occur over 700 acres, with two-thirds of plantings benefiting floodplain and riparian habitat enhancement sites.

Landowner Michele Beal Evans shared: “I just finished planting my 360 plants and my back is so sore that I may never walk again but I love the plants and the feeling that we are recovering and moving forward in a positive, prolific way.”

 

We’re so excited to extend our support to this area in crisis, and it’s all because of customers like you.

We Belong Together

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