In honor of California Arbor Week, March 7 – 14, 2012, California ReLeaf is pleased to kick off a California Arbor Week Photo Contest.  This contest is an effort to increase awareness of and appreciation for the trees and forests in the communities where Californians live, work and play.  This contest is designed to highlight the broad diversity of tree species, settings, and landscapes throughout our state, in locations urban and rural, large and small, and on public and privately owned land.  Trees provide many benefits to our communities.  They clean our air and water, save energy, raise property values, foster neighborhood pride, provide wildlife habitat, revitalize neighborhoods, and create an inviting outdoor environment for people to play, exercise and socialize.  In addition, trees provide significant benefits related to health and nutrition, crime reduction, community beautification, neighborhood revitalization, and economic vitality.  We are looking for photographs in the following categories: My Favorite California Tree, and Trees Where I Live.

For contest rules, submission guidelines, and deadline, please click here.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 10 (ACR 10) was introduced by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, sponsored by California ReLeaf and passed by both the Assembly and Senate last week to proclaim March 7-14 of each year as California Arbor Week, urging California residents to observe the week with appropriate tree planting activities and programs.

“I am proud to have been a part of a tremendously successful California Arbor Week” said Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, “The benefits of the increased activism from our plantings, education, and preservation will last for generations in our communities, forests, and our hearts.”

Research shows that trees clear pollution from the air, catch significant rainwater, add to property values, cut energy use, increase commercial activity, reduce stress, improve neighborhood safety and enhance recreation opportunities.

Over 50 events and celebrations occurred around the state this year, from Eureka to San Diego, and California ReLeaf is raising money to support tree-planting initiatives and local organizations for 2012’s celebrations. Click here to read the full text of Resolution ACR 10, and visit www.arborweek.org for more information.

Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, representing the 9th District, introduced Assembly Concurrent Resolution 10 (ACR 10) to officially designate March 7-14 as California Arbor Week.  ACR 10 urges California residents to observe March 7-14 each year as California Arbor Week.  Trees are a vital resource to to our communities and serve as an important link with nature for California’s residents.

March 7 – 14 is California Arbor Week.  Urban and community forests play a vital role in our lives.  They filter rainwater and store carbon.  They feed and shelter birds and other wildlife.  They shade and cool our homes and neighborhoods, saving energy.  Maybe best of all, they form a living green canopy, contributing to our health and well-being, raising our quality of life.

This March you have a chance to get involved in your own neighborhood forest.  California Arbor Week is a time to plant trees, volunteer in your community, and learn about the forest where you live.  By planting trees in your own yard, caring for trees in your local parks, or attending a community greening workshop, you can make a difference.

For more information, or to find an event near you, please visit www.arborweek.org

The panel has put together the “TREE-MENDOUS Tree Contest” that it hopes will draw interest from community residents who can enter trees on their property in a contest to find the biggest of each species inside the city.

“It’s an idea we came up with to make folks aware of the trees they have and to bring awareness that these are also resources that need to be protected,” board chairman Nick Chilton said.

The tree contest began Friday, February 18 on Georgia Arbor Day and will run through National Arbor Day on April 29.

Click here to read more at Jacksonville.com.

If you are interested in receiving some of these brochures, please contact us at info@californiareleaf.org to let us know how many copies you would like. We will send them to you as soon as possible!

DriWater in partnership with California ReLeaf is offering your organization one case (20 units) of Perforated Tube delivery systems, which provides up to 30 days of watering, and two cases (40 units) of replacement gel pacs for monthly reapplications to assist in establishing these plants. Using this irrigation option reduces labor and water expense for your staff and volunteers. Please note that to successfully establish these trees, continued DriWater reapplications or scheduled watering will be necessary.

This donation can water approximately 5-20 saplings or trees for up to 90 days:

(20) saplings in D-cups (10-20) 1-gallon trees

(10) 5-gallon trees (6-10) 15-gallon trees

In turn, DriWater would appreciate the opportunity to be recognized in public relations activities around your Arbor Week events such as newsletters, press releases, website updates, etc. To confirm the specifications of your planting, contact Doug Anthony at 707-206-1437 (doug@driwater.com) in Northern California, or Lawrence O’Leary at 619-244-5221 (lawrence@driwater.com) for Southern California.  Download the donation order form here and submit it by 2/28/2011 or contact Doug or Lawrence for more information.

DriWater, Inc., a Santa Rosa, California based company that has been in business over 18 years is 100% committed to helping the planet by finding new ways to conserve water and grow trees. DriWater, Inc. has made ecological conservation part of its company credo by helping organizations with DRiWATER product donations, and also through education on water usage, tree growth, and about everyone’s role in ecology and water conservation, to preserve this commodity for future generations.

Local children help to plant a tree on Arbor Day.

During its 10 years of operation, the foundation has planted over 2,100 trees in this Tree City USA northwest of Sacramento. Wilkinson is a historian and says Woodland got its name because it grew out of an oak forest. Wilkinson and the foundation want to preserve that heritage.

The all-volunteer group works with the city to plant trees downtown and replace aging trees. Twenty years ago, there were almost no trees in the downtown area. In 1990, the city planted three or four blocks of trees. Since 2000, when the Woodland Tree Foundation was created, they have been adding trees.

Roots in Tree Protection

Although the city and foundation work hand-in-hand today, the foundation actually grew out of a lawsuit against the city over a road widening project that was going to destroy a row of 100-year old olive trees. Wilkinson was on the city tree commission. He and a group of citizens sued the city to stop the removal.

They eventually settled out of court, and the city agreed to move the olive trees. Unfortunately, they were not cared for properly and they died.

“The silver lining is that the incident inspired me and a group of people to form a non-profit tree foundation,” said Wilkinson. “A year later we successfully procured our first grant from the California Department of Forestry.”

Because of budget cuts, the city is now encouraging the foundation to take on even more responsibility.

“In the past, the city did a lot of marking and service alerts for underground and utility lines,” said Wes Schroeder, city arborist. “That is very time consuming, and we’re helping the foundation phase that in.”

When old trees need to be replaced, the city grinds out the stumps and adds new soil. Then it gives the locations to the foundation to replace trees.

“We would probably do a lot fewer plantings without the foundation,” said Schroeder.

Working with Neighboring Communities

Volunteers proudly stand beside the 2,000th tree planted by WTF.

The foundation is also getting a lot of assistance from tree groups from two neighboring cities, Sacramento Tree Foundation and Tree Davis. In October and November, the two organizations got grants and chose to work with the Woodland Tree Foundation to plant trees in Woodland.

“Hopefully they’ll become team leaders in our towns when we do plantings,” said Keren Costanzo, new executive director of Tree Davis. “We’re trying to increase collaboration among the organizations and pool our resources.”

The Woodland Tree Foundation is also working with Tree Davis to plant trees along Highway 113 which joins the two cities.

“We’ve adopted seven miles along the highway,” said Wilkinson. “It was just completed 15 years ago and had very few trees.”

The foundation has been planting there for eight years, using mostly oaks and some redbuds and pistache.

“Tree Davis was planting on their end, and they taught us how to do it on our end, how to grow seedlings from acorns and buckhorn seeds,” said Wilkinson.

Early in 2011 the two groups will join to plant trees between the two towns.

“In the next five years, we’ll probably have trees all along the corridor. I think it will be pretty fabulous as years go by.”

Interestingly enough, the two cities first planned to join their towns with trees back in 1903, according to Wilkinson. A women’s civic club in Woodland, in response to Arbor Day, joined with a similar group in Davis to plant palm trees.

“Palm trees were the rage. The California tourism bureau wanted to create a tropical feel so easterners would be thrilled to come out to California.”

The project fizzled out, but the area still has palm trees that were planted in that era.

Woodland Tree Foundation volunteers plant trees in downtown Woodland.

Modern Day Success

The Woodland Tree Foundation has received grants from California ReLeaf, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and PG&E (the latter to make sure the proper trees are grown under power lines). The foundation has a list of 40 or 50 volunteers who help with three or four plantings a year, mostly in the fall and on Arbor Day. Students from UC Davis and boys and girl scouts have helped.

Recently a woman in town who has a family charitable trust contacted the foundation. She was impressed by the foundation’s track record and volunteer spirit.

“She is interested in making Woodland a more walkable, shady city,” said Wilkinson. “She has offered us a major gift to pay for a three-year strategic plan and funds to hire our first ever paid part-time coordinator. This will enable Woodland Tree Foundation to reach deeper into the community.”

Wilkinson believes the foundatio

n is leaving an incredible tree legacy.

“A lot of us feel what we’re doing is special. Trees need care, and we’re leaving them better for the next generation.”

Woodland Tree Foundation

Community members gather to help plant trees.

Year founded: 2000

Joined Network: 2004

Board Members: 14

Staff: None

Projects include

: Downtown & other in-fill street plantings and waterings, an Arbor Day event, and plantings along Highway 113

Website: http://groups.dcn.org/wtf

“It’s an important part of our legacy and our future to stand here today in Aldrich Park,” Chancellor Michael Drake told the crowd of volunteers gathered to plant even more trees in celebration of the honor.

For more information on Arbor Day’s Tree Campus USA program, visit their website here.

The Partners in Community Forestry National Conference serves as a platform for:

• Modeling best practices in sustainable partnership models.
• Sharing current research and best practices in urban forest management.
• Networking with leaders and peers in the urban forest community.

This year’s conference is being held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 9-11. For more information or to register, visit Arbor Day Foundation’s website.