Upcoming Community Events
(Ongoing): Summer Reading Events with Whatcom County Library
Sept. 15: Mystic Heart Sound Bath Fundraiser for WMTP @ The Firehouse
Sept. 17: WMTP @ Veg Fest
Sept. 22-30 Climate Action Week
(Various Dates): Volunteer Work Parties Galore!
More events will be announced soon… stay tuned! (See below to subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed.)
Selected Past Events
WMTP City Club Presentation
WMTP @ Fairhaven Plant Sale
Elemental @ Pickford Film Center
Become A Neighborhood Tree Ambassador
Climate Crisis & Your Inner Landscape
Sacred Earth Fair
Forest Walking w/ Jane Billinghurst
Tree Celebration at Firehouse Cafe
Youth v Gov and Inhabitants Pickford Film
WMTP Whatcom Reads Events
The Hidden Life of Trees Pickford Film
Old Growth Dedication at Baker Lake
Don’t Miss An Event — And Get a Cool Bonus!
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Summer Reading Events with Whatcom County Library
How? Readers can pick up a Summer Reading card at their local county library or download one at the WCLS website. The reading cards provide activities to complete, each one earning a “leaf.” For every 25 leaves earned by readers between now and August 31, Whatcom Million Trees will plant another tree locally (up to 200 trees).
We are so excited to be part of this year’s Whatcom County Library Summer Reading Program! Along with the Whatcom Library Foundation and WECU, we’re encouraging readers of all ages to fund us to plant 200 more native trees in Whatcom County.
Leaf-earning activities can be straightforward (reading or listening to a book, attending library programs), or more creative, with tree-related activities such as walking in the forest, hugging a tree, writing a tree story or drawing a tree picture. There will also be special weekly activities at each library branch.
Summer Reading kickoff parties will be held the last week of June at WCLS locations and bookmobile stops. See dates, times and locations at the library system’s events calendar. There will be free craft activities, info about upcoming programs, and book recommendations. Young people can select a free Summer Reading book to keep, along with cool bookmarks from us!
At several WCLS branch libraries this summer, we’ll present how-to’s on ivy removal, show the Intelligent Trees movie (here’s the trailer), and more! Listen to this awesome WCLS podcast (Episode 35 in their list) to learn more.
WMTP Library Presentations: How to Easily Remove Tree-Killing English Ivy
July 22 (Thursday) 2pm: Point Roberts library (@ the Community Center)
Sept. 9 (Saturday) 2pm: Blaine library
Sept. 14 (Thursday) 6pm: Ferndale library
Sept. 23 (Saturday) 3pm: Lynden library
Reading doesn’t have to be a solitary pursuit when we join together for a community effort that combines so many joys of summer into a shared goal of planting trees here in Whatcom County!
Sept. 15: Mystic Heart Sound Bath Fundraiser for WMTP
At the wonderful Firehouse performance space in Fairhaven on September 15 (7pm), join a select group of attendees to experience Kristi Moseley’s unique meditative soundscapes — and benefit our local trees and forests!
With a variety of quality gongs, crystal singing bowls and sound tools, her amazing rhythmic soundscapes and deep vibrations will help quiet the mind, alleviate stress, nourish the nervous system, and foster deep relaxation. You’ll emerge fully nourished, grounded and refreshed.
All ticket proceeds from this event will benefit Whatcom Million Trees Project. We are very grateful for Kristi’s generosity and support. Buy your tickets here. Don’t miss this very special event!
Sept. 17: WMTP @ Veg Fest 2023
We’ll have an info booth (and some surprise giveaways!) at the very popular annual Bellingham Veg Fest on Sunday, September 17, 2023, from 10am-3pm at Barkley Village. Last year’s event was voted BEST Festival of all festivals in Whatcom, Skagit, and Island counties!
Bellingham Veg Fest is free to attend — an all-vegan, all-ages, family-friendly festival created to show how easy and fun it is to live a vegan lifestyle. This event welcomes anyone and everyone — from the veg-curious to experienced vegans.
Veg Fest stands for compassion for all humans and non-humans, commitment to the health and sustainability of our planet (as is WMTP), and support for our local vegan and vegan-friendly small business and nonprofits.
The Fest will feature food, art, crafts, and more. Everything sold, distributed, and displayed at this event will be 100% vegan. Come check everything out at this unique event!
Sept. 22-30: Bellingham’s Climate Action Week 2023
WMTP is collaborating with the City of Bellingham, Whatcom Transportation Authority, and Garden Spot Nursery to bring you many exciting ways to get involved and make a difference during Climate Action Week and beyond! Our events are below, but you can view the full calendar of events here.
Transit for the Trees
September 22 – 30
Join us on the road to a greener future! As part of the City’ of Bellingham’s Climate Action Week, Whatcom Transportation Authority will plant one tree for every 100 bus rides.
The WTA/WMTP goal is to fund the planting of 1,000 trees by having 100,000 bus rides occur between September 22 and 30, 2023. By riding the bus, you will directly contribute to the growth of our urban forests and help to offset greenhouse gas emissions.
We invite you to participate in this collaborative effort with WTA and Whatcom Million Trees Project in order to promote sustainability, create cleaner air, and contribute to the well-being of our community.
To plan your route, visit ridewta.com or download the BusTracker app. WTA buses are $1 per ride, or free for anyone 18 and under, and Gold Card-eligible riders.
Save Trees to Improve Our Climate & Resiliency
Sunday, Sep 24, 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Join Whatcom Million Trees Project in an outdoors, fun, satisfying volunteer work party to remove English ivy that threatens thousands of trees locally.
A family-friendly event (ages 8 or older), we’ll work together hands-on along the popular South Bay Trail between Boulevard Park and downtown. Dozens of trees there face the English ivy threat.
Your simple but effective climate action to remove the ivy will allow the affected trees to continue to capture carbon from the atmosphere and to provide many other important benefits to our community.
WMTP will provide tools, gloves, snacks, and instructions. No special skills or tree-climbing are required. All we need is YOU!
Limited to 35 volunteers, please sign up in advance using this form to ensure we bring enough tools, etc. and so we can let you know about any last-minute event changes.
How to Remove English Ivy to Save Your Trees
Wednesday, Sep 27, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
At Garden Spot Nursery, learn how to safely and easily remove tree-killing English ivy from trees in your yard or neighborhood. Whatcom Million Trees Project (WMTP) will demonstrate the steps and talk about why it is so urgent to do this. No tree-climbing or special skills are required!
The simple but effective climate action will allow the saved trees to continue to capture carbon from the atmosphere and to provide many other important benefits to our community.
You’ll also discover WMTP’s other unique initiatives to rid English ivy from all trees in our region — and how you can help with just a few minutes of your time.
In Garden Spot Nursery’s wonderful outdoor presentation arena, nursery staff will present several native ground-cover alternatives to English ivy. There will be cool prizes and special discounts for attendees from Garden Spot, too!
Come join us to learn how to get rid of this slow, silent invasive that is killing thousands of trees locally!
Location: Garden Spot Nursery
900 Alabama Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
Climate Action Week 2023 Closing Event
Saturday, Sep 30, 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Come on down to Kulshan Trackside to visit our booth and others at this popular event. The City of Bellingham is partnering with the Port of Bellingham and Kulshan Brewing Co. for a fun, all-ages event to conclude the City’s annual Climate Action Week, a week of climate-themed events hosted by the Bellingham community.
This event will include a circus act and interactive kids’ learning zone, live music, educational booths, e-bike demos with bikes from local shops, and more! A variety of food vendors will have food and drinks available for purchase in the adjacent Portal Village. Beer is available for purchase in the Kulshan Trackside Beer Garden. More details to come!
Location: Kulshan Trackside Beer Garden and Downtown Waterfront Portal Village
298 W Laurel Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
WMTP Work Parties Galore!
During Fall and late-Winter, our volunteer work parties plant native tree seedlings in our various planting projects. During warmer months, we continue our efforts to remove tree-killer English ivy from existing mature trees within Whatcom County.
Our outdoor work parties are the perfect excuse to have hands-on fun, meet cool folks, enjoy fresh air, and contribute to an important cause with 15-25 other tree-lovers!
Feel free to invite family members or friends! Our work parties are suitable for all ages (older than 8 years old). Click here to view all upcoming work party dates and/or to join one. Thanks!
Past WMTP Events
WMTP City Club Presentation
On May 24, 2023, Michael Feerer presented at the Yacht Club in the City Club’s first in-person event since the pandemic. The topic was Boosting Climate Resilience — One Tree at a Time. Seth Vindana, COB’s Climate and Energy Manager, and Nicole Oliver, Director of COB Parks, also spoke at the well-attended event. You can watch the recording of it all here.(Michael’s portion starts at the 45 minute point of the video.).
WMTP @ Fairhaven Plant Sale!
WMTP was invited by Fairhaven Friends to have a booth at this popular March annual event. We gave away lots of info, healthy tree seedlings (on a donation optional basis) as well as answered questions.
October 2022: Jaw-Dropping Elemental Pickford Film Shows
WMTP together with the Pickford Film Center brought three shows (including one that SOLD OUT!) of the jaw-dropping film Elemental: Reimagining our Relationship with Wildfire as part of the Pickford’s popular annual DOCtober film series. Then we brought the movie back for additional showings during May 2023. This movie is THAT important to our community!
Relevant for ALL homes in Whatcom County (urban or rural) as we prepare for an increasingly hotter future, this important film demonstrated how healthy, diverse, naturally-regenerated forests fare so much better in wildfires than planted timber forests. How wildfire-affected forests should not be clear-cut afterwards. And how clearing trees on a home site isn’t the most effective strategy to FireWise a residence. Q&A’s after the show with local wildfire resiliency experts rounded out our informative offering.
A big thanks to the Pickford, as well as to Whatcom Conservation District and Re Sources, who helped make this well-attended event happen.
September 2022: Become A Neighborhood Tree Ambassador (Webinar + Work Party)
During the City of Bellingham’s 2022 ALL IN for Climate Action week, we presented a Zoom webinar/Q&A about how residents can protect mature trees in their neighborhood — to strengthen their area’s climate resilience. We showed how to…
- find the most climate-significant trees in your neighborhood;
- recognize and safely/easily remove silent-killer English ivy from tree trunks;
- organize small neighborhood teams to remove such invasives;
- advocate for big tree policy protections, and more.
Our webinar was followed by a well-attended Sunday work party at Cornwall Park that successfully removed invasive English ivy from 22 trees!
We hope our CAW events raised awareness about how Bellingham’s large, mature trees are an integral part of needed climate action in our community. Technology/energy system changes alone won’t solve the problem. Responding to climate change means not only reducing our carbon emissions, but capturing what’s already increasingly in the atmosphere. Trees play a major role in the latter and enhance our climate resilience to floods, heat waves, etc.
August 2022: Climate Crisis and Your Inner Landscape
Local psychotherapists Elizabeth Kerwin and Colleen Semple facilitated this in-person, outdoor event. A dozen participants shared with one another their feelings of grief and anxiety and how they are coping inwardly with the grave implications of the climate crisis. The ticket revenue was donated to WMTP.
July 2022: Sacred Earth Fair
We enjoyed being one of the 40+ nonprofits and other organizations with booths at the Multifaith Network for Climate Justice amazing Sacred Earth Fair on July 31 at the Center for Spiritual Living on Yew Street. We showed how individuals and neighborhoods can get involved with Whatcom Million Trees Project to enhance and expand their urban tree canopy.
June 2022: Forest Walking with Jane Billinghurst
Together with Village Books and the North Cascades Institute, Whatcom Million Trees Project brought Jane Billinghurst to Bellingham. She’s co-author with Peter Wohlleben of Forest Walking: Discovering the Trees and Woodlands of North America. (Here’s an in-depth book review by Lauren Fritzen.) First Jane discussed the book on Zoom, then a few days later led a fascinating forest walk in Hundred Acre Wood in Bellingham. Everyone gained a new appreciation of what is to be found under and on trees, even on familiar hikes. Each attendee’s $10 ticket funded Whatcom Million Trees Project to successfully plant one tree locally.
June 2022: Tree Celebration in Fairhaven!
We had a fun-filled afternoon of music, story-telling, and arboreal education centered around the beautiful Olive Plane tree next to the Firehouse Arts & Events Center in Fairhaven. Attendees learned how John the Arborist carefully tends this majestic tree and about recent progress of Whatcom Million Trees Project. Compelling tree tales were woven by local storyteller Kelvin Saxton Pablo, and live music was provided by the JP Falcon Grady Band. Plus there was a cool raffle and many giveaways. A fun celebration for everyone! View more photos from the event here.
April 2022: Youth v Gov and Inhabitants Films
During April as part of Earth Week, the Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival brought two powerful, inspiring films to the Pickford Film Center: Inhabitants and Youth v Gov. Whatcom Million Trees Project co-sponsored both events together with several other nonprofits. WMTP also took part in post-film panels/discussions.
Jan-March 2022: Whatcom Reads Events
Every year, Whatcom READS selects a worthy book and weaves a fantastic series of events together that coalesce our community around a singular story. Whatcom READS chose Greenwood by Michael Christie for its 2022 selection. WMTP led or participated in four events:
Tapping Bigleaf Maples for Syrup: How the Impossible Became Possible (Jan. 29).
Some of the rarest and tastiest maple syrup is tapped right here in Whatcom County sustainably! Attendees heard this Acme farm’s history (and future plans) from owner Neil McLeod, Whatcom Million Trees Project, and Peak Sustainability Group during an on-site tour and tasting.
A Million More Trees for Whatcom County? YES! (Feb. 17). Executive Director Michael Feerer presented the why, who, what, and where and how of Whatcom Million Trees Project’s exciting initiatives to plant and protect one-million trees in Whatcom County. Watch
The Woodstock Farm Story – and its Fruitful Future (Feb 24). Michael Feerer, Steve Gaber, and Tim Walh presented the storied history of this beautiful 16-acre City of Bellingham park along Chuckanut Drive, plus its orchard restoration and tree planting that’s in-progress by Whatcom Million Trees Project.
Chuckanut Radio Hour Interview. (March 3). During the first LIVE (with audience) Chuckanut Radio Hour since the pandemic, Michael Feerer led a lively interview with Greenwood author Michael Christie. Here’s the podcast. If you’re a fan of the book, it’s well worth a listen! Enjoy!
Sept. 2021: Old Growth Dedication at Baker Lake
Whatcom County’s FIRST old growth protection! As another City of Bellingham Climate Action Week event, on September 26th, 2021 Dr. Sarah Horsley from the Old-Growth Forest Network (with support from Whatcom Million Trees Project and Mt. Baker Chapter of the Sierra Club) publicly honored the old-growth forest along Baker River Trail. Old Growth Forest Network is a national nonprofit dedicated to establishing a national network of old-growth forests.