Meet Tom Breuckman, Tree Team
Tom answering questions during a Tree Team event at the Concordia Learning Landscapes Arboretum (CLLA)
We caught up with our Tree Team member, Tom Breuckman, to learn more about his story and how he came to be a part of the Concordia neighborhood urban forest community.
What’s your favorite tree?
I have two favorite tree possibilities - one the lilac tree that lived in my grandmother's yard on Mackinac Island in Michigan, the other a tree in my backyard - a big ol pine with many many cones and very messy, but a lovely big green tree.
When did you come to Concordia, and why?
I moved into the Concordia Neighborhood in 1984. We (My partner, Shanon and an assortment of dogs and cats over the years) felt at home immediately and a few years later, we moved from our original small house to a slightly larger one the next block over. We have always appreciated the sense of good neighbors and community spirit we have found here.
When we moved into our house on 38th, we came to know our next door neighbor, James Raser. "Jimmy" and his wife, Evelyn, lived in one of the original houses on our street and regularly shared little tidbits of neighborhood history and goings on with us and, in general, kept a helpful watchful eye on his young neighbors. I don't have any particular background in trees, except for a love for trees of all kinds and a belief it is up to us to steward them for everyone's enjoyment for centuries to come.
How did you find the Tree Team, and why did you decide to join their ranks?
After retiring from full time work with Portland Public Schools, I was looking for volunteer opportunities close to home, as I already had some other 'bigger' volunteer assignments with a national youth board. I was interested in working alongside other community members as well as doing something that would be valuable for our community here in Concordia. I had always loved the median that runs from Ainsworth and 37th to MLK. Occasionally, I would see a marker describing the name of the tree and other information, and thought that was so cool - to be able to know the name of the tree as we were walking by. Consequently, I kept an eye out towards information about that median strip and at that point I happened to stumble on to the Concordia Tree Team and the work that group does for our community.
I have really enjoyed the work and the community outreach = within walking distance of my home, as one example. Getting to know and work alongside the other Concordia Tree Team members has been pretty great! As a rule, they are very nice people with a passion and a mission of supporting trees that I'm happy to support.
