Results are still rolling in, but approximately 6,312 volunteers came out in force as part of the 23rd annual SOLVE IT, presented by Portland General Electric. With SOLVE support, volunteers accomplished the following watershed improvements:

• Planted 5,968 native trees and shrubs in parks, on school grounds and in natural areas
• Removed 139147 pounds of mixed waste from neighborhoods and natural areas
• Recycled 6,659 pounds of plastic, glass, paper and metal
• Collected and recycled 380 tires
• Removed invasive non-native vegetation from approximately 23 acres of land

Volunteers improved wildlife habitat at over 200 sites across Oregon this Earth Day. Long-time SOLVE volunteer Steve Miesen leads ongoing ivy pulls at his neighborhood forest on the Willamette River in West Linn: “Over the last decade, volunteers have slowly but steadily pulled English ivy from trees and the surrounding area and the return of native plants and birds has been dramatic. We now see more owls, robins, creepers, bald eagles and pileated wood peckers; it definitely makes a positive difference for wildlife.”

Volunteer Spotlight:
Meet Bill Mullenburg

PGE has been involved with SOLVE IT since 1984 and is proud to be the presenting sponsor for the event that encompasses hundreds of environmental projects throughout Oregon. PGE volunteers have cleaned illegal dumpsites from the foothills of the Coast Range, to the roads of Columbia County, sites in the Mt. Hood National Forest and cities throughout PGE’s service territory.

Among the hundreds of PGE’s SOLVE IT volunteers over the years, Bill Mullenburg, a PGE general line foreman, is always ready to gather his tools, his crews and his family members to lend a hand.
Read more about Bill Mullenburg.