You can appreciate Tulsa’s trees without knowing the first thing about planting one.

Saturday offers a way to change that—and leave a little more shade behind.

Up With Trees’ community planting begins at 9:30 a.m. October 10 near 81st Street and Memorial Drive. The organization currently lists the meeting point as 8081 S. Memorial Drive.

Before anyone starts digging, there is a demonstration.

That seems like a useful order of operations. Trees tend to be less forgiving than a houseplant when the hole is the wrong size.

After the demonstration, volunteers split into small groups and continue the planting together. Up With Trees provides tools, gloves and guidance. Volunteers should bring water and dress for the conditions. Anyone 17 or younger must stay with a guardian while volunteering.

It is a small Saturday-morning entry into a much longer Tulsa Story.

Up With Trees has been working on the city’s tree canopy since 1976. Most of that work becomes part of the scenery eventually. A tree beside a road can become so familiar that it is easy to forget someone once stood there with a shovel and helped put it in the ground.

This planting offers a chance to be on the other side of that equation.

Watch how it is done. Join a group. Help plant something that may become part of a stretch of Tulsa thousands of drivers pass without giving much thought to how it got there.

The event page had an active RSVP form when it was checked October 7, but an open form does not guarantee remaining space. Check the latest event details before heading out.

The satisfying part may come later.

A familiar drive down Memorial could eventually include a tree you remember helping into the ground.