The Euclid Shade Tree Committee unanimously elected Laura Lewis as vice chair during its Aug. 21 meeting and moved forward on several outreach items including the Euclid Tree Allies startup and participation in the city’s SteamFest on Sept. 20.

At the start of the meeting, a nomination and second led to a motion to elect Laura Lewis; the motion passed by unanimous voice vote. “I was approached and, others were asked if they wanted to do it. I think there are no other takers. I'm happy to serve, as well as I can,” Laura Lewis said after the nomination.

Why it matters: the commission cited outreach and volunteer engagement as central to expanding planting and maintenance knowledge in the city while acknowledging the commission’s limits for hands-on work.

Event summaries and planning: Charlene reported that the Pond & Garden Tour drew about 300 attendees overall; she said the twilight tour alone attracted “over a 100 people” on Friday night. Charlene said 47 people attended the appreciation dinner (the commission had budgeted for 60) and that the commission’s out-of-pocket costs for tokens included roughly $100 for mints.

The commission also confirmed an inaugural Euclid Tree Allies meeting for Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. at Tungsten Park Pavilion; staff and commissioners described the group as resident-led and project-focused, with early ideas including installing deer protection and conducting educational activities. Urban Forester Lathwell said sign-up is just beginning and that the group could be a way to connect volunteers with training and project work.

SteamFest planning: Commissioners agreed to staff a family-friendly booth and a tree-focused scavenger hunt at SteamFest on Sept. 20. Vice Chair-elect Laura Lewis outlined a proposed scavenger hunt format that would use Triangle Park’s tree inventory — she said the park contains “60 some trees” and “close to 30 different species” that could be used for identification activities. The commission scheduled a planning meeting for Sept. 4 at Shore Cultural Center to finalize materials and volunteer assignments.

Procedural items: the committee approved minutes from its July 17 meeting by voice vote earlier in the session.

Next steps: staff and volunteers will finalize a list of available materials (tables, easels, handouts) and circulate it by email before the Sept. 4 planning meeting; the Tree Allies organizers will open additional sign-up channels on the city website and in the local paper.

Limitations: no formal policy or budget changes were adopted for outreach at this meeting.