Meet Scotty Stieber — Newest Member of the Concordia Tree Team

Photo by Jordana Leeb

Story contributed by Jordana Leeb

In 2023 Scotty was involved in a serious bike accident in California while visiting a friend. He sustained life-threatening injuries that caused him to spend a year not working and recovering at home in NE Portland.

With a lot of extra time on his hands, Scotty got intrigued by the Ginkgo tree outside his window. He lives on the west end of the Ainsworth Linear Arboretum (ALA), in the King neighborhood. Scotty noticed the Ginkgo tree was dying and wanted to do something about it. He called the City of Portland and found out that the tree was on the City’s list to be replaced and from them, also learned about the Concordia Tree Team.

As part of Scotty’s recovery, he spent time in Forest Park connecting with trees and finding a sense of calm and peace. He also did historical research on the neighborhood, the arboretum, and street cars. And on top of that, he tried to bring the dying Ginkgo back to life by watering and protecting it from the mower by adding weed barrier.

He was moved to join the Concordia Tree Team because he has always liked trees, wanted to meet new people, and was interested in learning how and when to prune trees.

Scotty started watering three ALA trees in July of this year and has been enjoying watching the trees thrive under his care.

He is now back working at the PR firm he worked at before the accident, still looking out on the ALA and waiting for the Ginkgo tree replacement.

Originally from Chicago, Scotty spent several years in San Francisco where he enjoyed the diversity of plants and tree species. Although it was hard to leave, he and his partner moved to Portland to be closer to family in Olympia. He feels lucky to live in the Pacific Northwest where there are unique trees and plants that you can’t find elsewhere.

Scotty’s favorite tree is the Coast Redwood.