Please come help us thatch the rest of the Peoples Tree House on Sunday, July 26th.

For many years we’ve wanted to created a shady “tree house” to grow our baby trees under. The sun these days is just too intense! And as our friend Coakee often says, 99% of tree species didn’t evolve to be the tallest plant in their environment. And even the 1% that did evolve to be the tallest, aren’t the tallest when young. So, we need shade. But we didn’t want to use shade cloth because of all the plastic.

Then we had the idea to take an old greenhouse frame that was lying around and cover it with the “cane” (Syrian Reed Grass) that grows abundantly here. We had never thatched anything and didn’t know if this would work but we gave it a try. And it’s working SO well. Our baby trees that we transplanted in there in late March have grown dramatically better than they have ever done for us. So we’re elated. 

Our friends Xander and David helped us to figure out the technique we’re using and we got 3 bays out of 7 on our greenhouse frame thatched in time for our tree planting workshop at Spring Equinox. (Thanks to all who helped out.)

Now it’s time to gather together to thatch the remaining 4 bays.

With the generous support of SRA, we will all enjoy a delicious catered lunch together after thatching the roof and before putting the finishing touches on the Peoples Tree House. 

We look forward to welcoming you to join in the process of creating shade for the future canopy of our greater neighborwoods. 

General schedule

8:45 AM - 9:00 AM Arrive 

9:00 AM - 9:30 Introductions and Orientation

9:30-12:00 PM

Gathering Crew:
Cane Harvesting, stacking, and moving

Thatching Crew:
Installing guide wires

Running and attaching ground level fencing

Thatching the roof

12:00 Pm - 1:00 PM Lunch 

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Complete the roof thatching. Put cane in west end fence to provide shade from the West.

Folks are welcomed to stay longer, and perhaps enjoy a short walk to the beaver pond at the confluence of Bear Creek and the Gila River where we can swim.

Reach out to us if you have any questions; Samira 575.313.4317  : Stef 575.313.4318