The Friends of Trees is honoring Metro with its 2010 Community Partner Leadership Award.
"Metro has been a generous and steadfast partner with Friends of Trees; most notably the Collins Sanctuary restoration and the I-205 multi-use path trees planting to provide shade, noise abatement and restore natural area habitat," said Scott Fogarty, Executive Director of Friends of Trees, in a letter informing Metro of the honor.
The Collins Sanctuary is an 84-acre property in Forest Park that Metro purchased with money from the natural areas bond measure passed by voters in 2006. Metro has teamed with Friends of Trees to remove non-native, invasive species from the land and plant new trees and brush to create a healthy environment and a flourishing habitat for birds, reptiles and wildlife.
In the I-205 multi-use path project, Metro is helping Friends of trees plant 2,500 trees and shrubs in the next three years. The greenery will line the pathway, a highly visible 15-mile corridor along side Interstate 205 stretching from the Columbia River south to the community of Gladstone.
As a steward of the environment, Metro preserves natural areas throughout the region. The agency partners with others to restore green spaces in order to safeguard water quality, benefit native vegetation, protect fish and wildlife habitat, and ensure access to nature for future generations.
Metro Council President David Bragdon and councilors Carlotta Collette, Rex Burkholder, Kathryn Harrington and Rod Park attended the awards ceremony on May 20.