The volunteer week Spokane Gives begins Saturday, through collaboration between the mayor’s office and non-profits. The seeds planted Saturday will start a week of growth in the volunteer community. The seeds being planted are literal. Local Boy Scout troops will plant more that 4,000 Ponderosa Pine seedlings along the developing north-south corridor.

Spokane Gives became a catalyst for the boy scouts, the state transportation department, and a group called Spokane Ponderosa to work together. State transportation spokesperson Al Gilson says trees will be aesthetically pleasing along the North Spokane corridor, and benefit storm water retention ponds.
 
Gilson: “When we build a major highway project like the North Spokane Corridor freeway, there are a number of storm water retention areas that we seed them with native grasses, but we really don’t plant anything more than that because of the expense. So it was a nice partnership.”
 
Patrish Brady sees it as a great opportunity to get more trees in the ground. She is with Spokane Ponderosa, dedicated to revitalizing the city’s ponderosa density.
 
Brady: “They’re native to the area. They actually require little water. They absorb pollutants and CO2 from the air. The actually are fire resistant, which is kind of cool, and they are Spokane’s number one storm water absorption tree.”
 
Her group is supplying 4,200 seedlings, while Boy Scout and local volunteers will make up the planting crew. They’ll plant at the Parksmith Interchange along the corridor. This and dozens of other volunteer opportunities are online at spokanegives.com

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