Friend of the Year

In 2022 Lisa Wilcke took on a project that had been needling at some of us tree geeks: the old tree map.

There were species misidentified, trees not where they were supposed to be on the map, some were not in good health, and some had been removed. The old brochure was still being handed out at the Visitors Center and the kiosk, and every time a teacher cheerfully passed out copies of the map to their classes to learn more about trees, it kind of made some of us feel queasy.

Lisa saw problem with something in the park and set out to find people to help her fix it. She enlisted the help of a number of arborist friends and people at Hoyt Arboretum to come up with correct species identification. Lisa worked with board member Sebastian Busby to make the map interactive. In some cases she found a healthier example of a certain tree species, focused on NW native trees, and on unusual specimens like the large Strawberry tree and the Himalayan spruce.

Lisa’s husband Ron and son Kurt helped remove a huge amount of blackberry that was around the Strawberry tree. It was almost impossible to see the form and the distinctive bark on this tree, and assess its health when it was surrounded by vines.

Lisa has also been so helpful volunteering to lead urban nature series events and teach people about local ecology in Mt. Tabor Park. She led an event for kids, that included songs, and taught them how to tell the difference between a conifer and broadleaf tree, and that not all cones are pinecones. Lisa will be leading some walks featuring trees on the tree map soon, so check taborfriends.org for updates…

So when you’re in the park and see one of the many 4x4 posts with a number on it, you can point your phone at the QR code, or visit taborfriends.org. The tree map is the most visited part of the Friends of Mt Tabor Park website! As far as we know, this is the only project of its kind on the east side of the Willamette in a Portland Park.

We are very happy to have Lisa as a volunteer at Mt Tabor Park, and as a well-deserved Friend of the Year.

Here are a few reasons why we selected Steve for the Friend of The Year award:
Steve has been a member of Friends of Tabor since 2013, and active with the Foot Patrol continuously for more than 10 years. Steve has been the Foot Patrol trainer.

He has trained all new volunteers since 2016. This involves vetting all new volunteers, interviewing them to determine if they are a good fit for the Foot Patrol; this is important since they meet the public while on Patrol and represent Friends of Tabor, and act as an ambassador for Mt. Tabor Park. New volunteers learn how to deal with dog owners (our biggest problem); able to handle emergency situations in the park while on patrol and have good judgment.

Steve has also been in charge of maintenance of the Foot Patrol Hut where we keep all our equipment: cleaning, organizing, assisting in ordering supplies, and security for the Hut.

And lastly he adopted maintenance of the Green trail about 4 years ago.

Hap is a true visionary. He dedicated an enormous amount of time and imagination to Mt Tabor Park, and showed his passion for environmental education.

As our official Visitor Center coordinator Hap scheduled and trained volunteers, kept the inventory stocked, came up with new items to sell, and answered a constant stream of questions. He helped us navigate the "new normal" of a pandemic and worked to find protocols to keep both visitors and volunteers safe.

Hap’s lasting legacy is the Urban Nature Series, a weekly education workshop that has been attended by hundreds of visitors. He also maintained the information kiosk, served on various committees, and wrote a brand new version of our geology brochure so that everyone can learn about our volcano.

Hap's contributions to Friends of Mt. Tabor Park and the community are incomparable, and we can't thank him enough for all the hard work he's done!

Bing devotes his time to Friends of Mt Tabor Park as a Board Member, a Weed Warrior Crew Leader, and is involved in the historic preservation of the reservoirs. As a member of the Mt Tabor Neighborhood Association, Bing acts a liaison between the two organizations.

He has been described by Mary Kinnick as “a steadfast contributor in significant ways on the Board of Friends of Mt Tabor Park… And, no matter what the issue faced by the Board, Bing has weighed in with thoughtful, well-reasoned ideas.” Bing is also a valued member of the Weed Warriors team. Bing is usually the first crew leader to RSVP and it’s usually a “Yes.” He was there for the heat dome event in June, and worked in the rain at a small event last Sunday. Bing has also devoted many hours to independent projects in the park, including a grove of staghorn sumac near the Lincoln Street entrance, that was once completely hidden by Himalayan blackberry. (If you’re in that area take a look, it’s probably starting to leaf out.)

Lise started volunteering with the Friends of Mt. Tabor Park Weed Warriors in 2013 and has served as program coordinator since 2016. Under Lise’s leadership, Weed Warriors continues its work to keep the park ecologically healthy through last Saturday of the month volunteer service projects and specially planned projects at other times to remove invasive vegetation and plant native vegetation. Lise works closely with Portland Parks & Recreation staff as Weed Warrior coordinator.

Suzanne McCarthy began her association with the Friends of Mt.Tabor Park by patrolling with her husband Pat. Together they enjoyed helping to maintain the park. When a vacancy occurred on the Board, she agreed to fill in. Shortly after she joined the Board, the post of membership chairman became open. A small question, “What does that involve?”, turned into a most enjoyable ‘job’. For the next six years, Suzanne maintained the group’s roster and facilitated communications with the members, helping to connect the members with the essential, far-reaching, and expanding activities of this valuable community organization.

Pat served on the Friends of Mt. Tabor Park board for nine years and was the membership chair. Pat has hosted more FMTP meetings and parties than anyone, and she served many slices of pie at summer concerts. She assisted with mailing newsletters to members when that was the mode of newsletter distribution, has also participated in the placement and maintenance of trail markers in the park, and fills the brochure racks on the park informational kiosk regularly.

Carol and Larry have been true friends of Mt. Tabor Park over the years, whether it be staffing the Foot Patrol, pie sales at the summer concerts, Visitor Center volunteering, painting and installing tree post markers, trail marker maintenance, putting up and taking down concert barricades, and taking care of all purchases for the Visitor Center.

A member since 2007, Dennis grew up on the South side of Mt. Tabor. His love of the park started in 1954. Dennis Puetz took over as Foot Patrol Coordinator from Beau Russell in August 2015. Not only does Dennis patrol the park regularly, but he also keeps meticulous patrol records for the Foot Patrol, coordinates scheduling, organizes group meetings, and creates handouts and manuals for the patrol. A detailed profile of Dennis can be found in the February 2015, newsletter.

Dave was a founding member of Friends of Mt. Tabor Park and is a significant figure in the growth of FMTP. He has been an advocate for the park with the city and served as a board member. Dave's achievements are too numerous to mention but include everything from being a member of the Foot Patrol to organizing the volunteers to help at the summer concerts. His most significant contribution to FMTP is the conceiving of and establishment of the Visitor Center in the Park. The visitor center is open to welcome those who come to the park and is a reminder of all that Dave has done for FMTP.

Mary Kinnick, a Friends of Mt. Tabor Park member since 2006 and a board member for many years, has been an advocate and activist for maintaining the park’s ecological health. Mary got proactive in the park after a 2005-2006 study documented the terrible ecological state of the park. She served as Weed Warriors coordinator from 2008 to 2015, working closely with volunteers and Portland Parks and Recreation. Under Mary’s leadership, Weed Warriors grew significantly, and her fundraising efforts led to the establishment of an endowment to fund a part-time Stewardship Coordinator to provide professional leadership for the continuing volunteer work removing invasive plants.

Martrese developed and maintains the current FMTP website, and she moderates the group's Facebook page and Instagram account. As a graphic designer, she's used her skills to design brochures and newsletters for FMTP and the park, and contributes all proceeds from sales of postcards featuring her photographs to FMTP. Martrese also served on the FMTP board for six years. She's an enthusiastic ambassador for the FMTP.