SLS: PSU Campus Volunteer Coordinator with Friends of Trees (2025-26 school year)

The mission of Friends of Trees is "planting trees and growing healthy communities together."

This position is one of the options for Portland State's Student Leaders for Service program. Please apply to the Student Leaders for Service program to express interest in this opportunity.  To access the application to apply for SLS for the the 2025-26 school year, please visit https://pdx.givepulse.com/event/590919

Friends of Trees recognizes that not everyone has equal access to the benefit of trees and a breathable neighborhood. As a community driven organization we foster an atmosphere of inclusion and support, and we strive to build places that are safer and healthy for all. We accomplish this through authentic community conversation; unique partnerships; relevant programming; and attracting and retaining diverse staff and supporters. 

Friends of Trees would benefit tremendously from more PSU students engaged in its work -- which is where the PSU Campus Volunteer Coordinator role comes in! 

Together with Friends of Trees staff, the PSU Campus Volunteer Coordinator would co-develop Internship planting schedule/goals:

• Set goals for recruitment to FOT fall Crew Leader trainings,
• Set goals for number of planting volunteers recruited, transportation for student volunteers, and for which events. . 

Campus Recruitment:

• Brainstorm ideas how to engage PSU community members to attend selected tree-planting events (e.g. tabling, partnering with clubs, extra credit with instructors, campus media, etc)
• Work to maintain/update/utilize student interest tracking. 

Role at Saturday Planting events:

• Options can include getting trained in staging, leading crews of planting volunteers, the registration table, event photographer, and more.

Friends of Trees Staff/Office work:

• Regular check-ins w/ staff supervisor (can be in-person or online, schedule developed together) 
• Regularly or on occasion visit FOT office for office-based planting prep activities (clipboard prep, gloves, loading, etc) 
• Utilize Salesforce (data tracking software) for data entry of volunteers & volunteer management

This position would be wholly responsible for engaging the PSU community with options for engagement with Friends of Trees, and thus help us to fulfill our mission of inspiring people (specifically at PSU) to engage with community urban forestry and develop future leadership in this field.

Note: This opportunity can be hybrid in nature but does requires in-person engagement.

• In-person activities: Engagement at planting events, work at FOT office, recruitment activities on campus.
• Potential remote activities: regular check-ins with supervisor, some PSU community recruitment, End of planting season celebration prep (soliciting donations, photo album, etc.)

Orientation/Training/Resources provided or required: The first two weeks will be focused on orientation, in-person and online trainings with FOT staff, and goal-setting for the internship.  We would like this position to train for the Crew Leader role during our Oct trainings.

Skills and knowledge required: 

• A desire to work both outdoors and in an office/campus environment
• Positive attitude
• An interest in honing your communication skills working with a wide diversity of people
• Able to work in a group and independently
• An understanding of systemic racism and oppression and an interest to considering your own communication biases.

Preferred qualifications:

• Knowledgeable about and interested in tree ID and native plant ID
• Able to speak a language other than English
• Access to a private vehicle.

Benefits of this Position: This position will support learning re: urban trees, urban forestry, written and verbal advocacy communication, leadership, and non-profit management.

Student's participation will be crucial to shaping all internship goals and the activities that will advance these goals.  There are a variety of options and we can cater many aspect of this position to the interests of the student.

Schedule & Time Commitment: 4-6 hrs/week at a minimum; 1-2 Saturday mornings per month, 8am-1pm -- Saturdays will be an important day for this role. Availability on Thursdays and Fridays is ideal for non-planting related activities. 

Location & Transportation: This position will take place at multiple sites throughout the Portland metro and can vary, depending on if the student has access to private transportation and which planting events they decide to support.  The office is in inner NE Portland directly accessible on Tri-met 6 bus line: 3117 NE MLK Blvd, Portland OR 97212

Line 6 stops right in front of the Friends of Trees office and is about a 25 minute ride from the PSU campus. For planting days, sites are all over the metro area. Depending on the location, a transit trip to a planting event may take about an hour or less from the PSU campus.

Supervision: Cece Ortiz-Barreiro (she/her), Volunteer & Outreach Specialist), will primarily be engaged with this student.