Serious Sweatwork: Relocating a Monkey Puzzle Tree

On April 13, 2025, Concordia Tree Team members Jim Gersbach, Autumn Voirol, Mallory Pratt, Lizzie Hildebrand, and Nathan Zamani moved a monkey puzzle tree within the Cully-Concordia International Grove at NE 42nd and Lombard.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation will soon be replacing the 42nd Street Overpass across Lombard and has slated 16 trees in the Grove along Lombard to be cut down as part of the project.

Read more about The International Grove >>

This tree is the only one in the Grove that could be successfully relocated by hand, as the other trees in the Grove are too mature to be transplanted without specialized equipment.

Trees in the Grove represent all six continents that have trees. The monkey puzzle is the species representing South America, being native to Chile and western Argentina. Monkey puzzle trees are ancient conifers that date back to the time of the dinosaurs. They are well adapted to Portland's climate and can live for centuries.

All photos below by Autumn Voirol.