Highway 12 tree project branches out

At least 50 new trees to be planted at key sites, says SEC|

Local teens are being transformed into modern-day Johnny Appleseeds as the Sonoma Ecology Center prepares to send out arboreal ambassadors to pave the way for new shade trees along the woefully tree-deficient Highway 12 corridor. The plan, supported by a $2,316 grant from Sonoma Impact 100, calls for the recruitment and training of teenage interns, called “EnviroLeaders.” The young people will work with the local community, identify potential tree-planting sites, and carry out the planting of at least 50 new shade trees throughout the Springs area.

The ambitious effort, according to SEC educator and project manager Tony Passantino, is already underway.

“We’ve definitely been making progress,” says Passantino. “We currently have seven high school students who are being trained on community outreach. They are developing printed materials to support that, and they have been involved in identifying key sites along Highway 12 that have the potential to take one, two or three new trees.”

Those trees, to be acquired from local nurseries, will be offered and planted, at no cost, to residents and business owners. They will primarily be placed in spots where new sidewalks and other street improvements forced the removal of numerous older trees last year.

“The highway project needed more width to accommodate bike lanes, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, so a number of trees were slated for removal,” says 1st District Supervisor Susan Gorin. “We were able to save seven or eight of those trees from the chainsaw, but there were a number that just had to come down.”

Simply replanting trees in or near those same places, Gorin says, was not as easy as it may sound, since the new sidewalks do not leave adequate space to plant trees.

“Trees need to be planted at least a few feet away from the sidewalks, to avoid the tree roots eventually lifting up the sidewalks” she says. “But it is still important, to me, to plant trees along that corridor, to create a sense of community, to green up the corridor, and to soften the built environment.”

Gorin says she likes the SEC plan.

“The teens will plant the trees, but the property owners will assume the responsibility to irrigate, fertilize and carefully prune the planted trees,” she says.

According Passantino, approximately 50 locations have been already identified by EnviroLeaders, as potentially suitable locations for brand new trees. The trees that will be planted will be small, and will require care by the property owner. EnviroLeaders will stay in touch to help owners obtain any information needed to protect and nurture their trees.

The current plan is to begin planting trees between now and Arbor Day of 2017.

“We will be approaching the residents or owners over the next several weeks,” Passantino says. “We’d love to have at least one tree planted in every one of those locations. Some lots are big enough for more than one tree, of course, and some could probably handle three to five.”

The type of tree planted, he says, will be up to the property owner. In addition to traditional shade trees, a number of fruit trees will be available as well. The teens will work with the property owners, explaining which trees require less water, and which trees offer various kinds of benefits, in addition to increasing the value of the property.

“We have a big list of different kinds of possible trees,” Passantino says. “We love native species, of course, but the most important part is that the homeowner enjoys the tree.”

Email David at david.templeton@sonomanews.com.

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