Growing Friends of Helena

Trash for Trees – the End of an Era

webmaster — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:49:22 +0000

We have some bittersweet news to report: there will be no more Trash for Trees (TFT) recycling events. Growing Friends really got its start with Trash for Trees and, in our early years, proceeds provided a good portion of our budget. But as our membership has grown, and as the number of other recycling opportunities and locations in Helena has increased, the financial benefits have shrunk in proportion. One point on the bright side is that now all the volunteer time you want to give to Growing Friends can be devoted to our main mission – planting trees.

For the past several years, the S.A.V.E. Foundation has done most of the work of organizing TFT as part of its major program of promoting recycling in the Helena area. S.A.V.E. plans to expand its efforts, and incorporate the recycling of such things as aluminum and steel cans in its regular plastic collections. For those of you with recyclables piling up, you can either use the recycling bins the City put in various parking lots around town, or you can take your things to the Transfer Station. You can find the recycling bin locations on the City’s website at http://www.ci.helena.mt.us. The City is also planning a paint collection event and an electronic waste collection this month. Check their website for dates and details.

Be Sure to Mark Your Calendar for upcoming S.A.V.E. recycling events!

S.A.V.E. will be collecting plastics on May 11 – 14, July 13 – 16, September 14 – 17, and November 9 – 12.

Recently Funded and Upcoming Projects

webmaster — Fri, 13 May 2011 14:44:09 +0000

We have recently awarded grants to the following organizations:

Archie Bray Foundation
Bryant School
St. Paul’s Methodist Church
United Way (for their building on Lyndale Ave.)

2012 Upcoming Growing Friends Projects:

Please check back for spring 2012 projects and planting dates. We have a board meeting on April 12 and should have details to report soon afterwards.

We have a long list of people interested in boulevard trees and we’ll be working through that list in May and June.

Spring 2012 Plantings

webmaster — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:10:54 +0000

Please check back for our list of Spring 2012 plantings. We hope to have plantings scheduled by mid April.

Trash for Trees and Plastics Recycling

webmaster — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:26:39 +0000

S.A.V.E.’s upcoming plastics recycling drive will be May 13 – 16 2011, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m, at 1100 Last Chance Gulch (former guard armory, next to the YMCA parking lot). More details are available at http://www.savemobile.org

For additional information about recycling options in Helena, please go to http://www.savemobile.org/RecyclinginHelena.pdf

The spring 2011 Trash for Trees was held April 16, 2011

Location: Northgate Plaza on N. Montana Ave.

Materials Accepted: Newspapers, Magazines, Glass, Cardboard, Aluminum Cans, and Steel Cans

Limited Plastics collected by The S.A.V.E. Foundation.

Planting Project Criteria

admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:51:10 +0000

In choosing which planting projects to become involved in, and(or) to make grants for, GF assigns the highest priority to projects which best satisfy the following criteria:

The project:

a. must provide significant public benefits and only incidental private ones.
b. is unlikely to be conducted without GF’s involvement.
c. helps GF to achieve a desirable diversity among its projects.
d. has education or demonstration value.

The location:

e. must be one through or by which significant numbers of Helena area residents regularly pass.
f. currently lacks adequate and sufficient trees and shrubs.
g. is one to which Helena area residents have access, and which is visible to the public.

The planting:

h. is conducted in accordance with a landscaping plan.
I. includes primarily trees.
j. uses plants and techniques appropriate to Helena’s climate and conditions.
k. will be aesthetically pleasing and increase the attractiveness of its area.
l. includes an irrigation system, or has a realistic long-term watering plan.
m. will be adequately maintained and relatively long-lived.

In considering requests for grants, the following additional criteria are applied:

n. the proposal asks for assistance from GF that is feasible, given its resources.
o. the project’s expenditures, including the prices to be paid for plants and materials, are reasonable.
p. the property owner is able to meet GF’s requirements for cost-sharing.

Fall Plantings

admin — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:36:07 +0000

There are no fall plantings scheduled at this time. Please check back for updates.