KONA Neighbors Dig In

In mid-November the KONA Neighborhood (King Ocala Neighborhood Area) hosted a tree planting that drew over fifty volunteers and brought together a community.
Organized by Gloria Rivera with help from OCF’s Planting Coordinator Jennifer Albin, the event attracted strong community support from residents and local businesses. Volunteers on hand included members of the Lynbrook Key Club and students from San Jose State. Other outstanding support came in the form of donated food and supplies from local restaurants and stores.

OCF avoids dropping into neighborhoods and planting trees without support from the residents themselves, largely to impart a sense of ownership so important to the future health and survival of the trees. This approach has the added benefit of community building while residents work together to beautify their neighborhood.

Our City Forest also strives to provide trees in areas where the need is greatest. Organizer Gloria Rivera thanked OCF, and recalled “There are a lot of little things we can do to improve our community, especially with the support of an organization such as Our City Forest.” She also reminds us that organizing a tree planting doesn’t cost a neighborhood anything, and is a great way to bring a people together.

Gloria is looking forward to organizing another tree planting with Our City Forest at Hubbard Elementary School in January.

Special thanks to all the Tree Amigos that helped lead the planting efforts that day, including: Noel & Franci Card, Linda Littrell, Edwin Hedgpeth, and Alice Gosack.

Residents of the KONA Neighborhood came together to plant trees and beautify their neighborhood. Event organizer was Gloria Rivera (center front)

Combating Heat Islands
with shade trees, cool roofs, and more

Dr. Hashem Akbari of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Our City Forest’s President Rhonda Berry and S.J. City Arborist Ralph Mize presented an overview of San José’s urban forestry initiatives at the “Cooling Our Communities” workshop sponsored by environmental consulting firm ICLEI and the City of San José’s Environmental Services Department in November. Municipal and NGO staff from throughout the county were invited to the event to hear not only about the problems of urban heat island effects, but also about proven mitigation strategies.

Dr. Hashem Akbari, renowned scientist from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, presented extensive data demonstrating the benefits of employing several strategies including cool roofing systems and strategic tree planting. His research group has monitored buildings in Sacramento with lightly colored, more reflective roofs and found that these buildings used up to 40% less energy for cooling than buildings with darker roofs. http://heatisland.lbl.gov/CoolRoofs/ Peter Turnbull from PG&E also discussed the work of the Cool Roof Rating Council (including PG&E’s rebate program). Connie Gallippi from the Sacramento Tree Foundation presented an overview of its regional urban forestry initiative to double its tree canopy and reduce air pollution by as much as 50%.

Trees remain one of the least expensive ways to prevent carbon dioxide emissions, remove air pollutants and reduce smog, according to extensive study by research scientists.

Make your holiday greener this year by buying a living tree from a nursery and donating it to Our City Forest for planting afterwards.

Important Tips
1. Choose an appropriate species that can be replanted by OCF.
2. Gradually introduce your living tree to the indoor growing environment over three or four days via the garage or enclosed porch.
3. Locate your tree in the coolest part of the room and away from heating ducts.
4. Water your tree slowly every day or every other day when the soil on top is dry. The warmer your house is, the more water it will need. Make sure it gets enough water to reach all the roots. You will know it has enough water when you see water draining out the bottom.
5. Leave inside no longer than 10-14 days.
6. Never add nutrients or fertilizers.
7. Carefully introduce tree back outside using the reverse of #2 above.

What to Buy
The following is a list of evergreen conifers that can make great holiday trees and are well suited for planting in the Santa Clara Valley. The trees that have the most potential to be replanted are the incense cedar, any of the true cedars, and some of the pines.

IMPORTANT: TREES MUST BE IN A #5, #10, OR #15 CONTAINER FOR YOUR TREE DONATION TO BE ACCEPTED.

Preferred:
Calocedrus decurrens (incense cedar)
Cedrus atlantica (atlas cedar)
Cedrus brevifolia (cypress cedar)
Cedrus deodara (deodar cedar)
Cedrus libani (cedar of Lebanon)
Cupressus arizonica (Arizona cypress)
Pinus eldarica (afgan p.)
Pinus pinea (stone p.)
Pinus ponderosa (ponderosa p.)
Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood)
Taxus baccata (english yew)
Taxus brevifolia (Western yew)
Torreya californica (CA nutmeg)

Avoid if Possible:
Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas fir) – due to size, and soil & climate limitations.

Do Not Buy:
Pinus radiata (Monterey pine)- These trees are short lived and are susceptible to the pine pitch canker disease, so we cannot use them.

Click here to download a printable pdf of this information

Call OCF at (408) 99-TREES after the holidays to arrange to drop off your tree.

In the news...

An announcement from Sustainable Silicon Valley:

SAN JOSE, Calif., October 25, 2006—Sustainable Silicon Valley (SSV), a non-profit collaboration of businesses, governments, academic institutions and non-governmental organizations that are identifying and addressing environmental and resource pressures in the Valley, today announced six new pledging partner members.
The new partners are Applied Materials, eBay, Minerva Consulting, Network Appliance, Our City Forest and Seagate Technologies. The partners were introduced today at a Sustainable Silicon Valley event, A Favorable Climate for Climate Action, following the release of its CO2 Report 2006, which highlights the reduced emissions accomplishments of 37 public and private sector partners.
In its 2006 report, 37 SSV reporting partners reduced their CO2 emissions by more than 477,000 tons through energy efficiency initiatives and increasing use of renewable energy sources. This year saw a 28 percent increase over avoided emissions from what was reported in last year’s report—the equivalent to saving more one million barrels of oil or taking more than 93,000 automobiles off the road for one year.

Green Software Measures Up

A recent study has quantified the value of our urban forest and paved the way for communities across the nation to model the effect trees have on air quality and water runoff. This data can be used in city planning and land use applications, and demonstrates how much we need trees.

The study, done by American Forests in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and USDA Forest Service, quantified tree values using CITYgreen. CITYgreen is software developed by American Forests to quantify the value of urban ecosystems, and it involves a technical analysis of satellite data, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), urban ecology, and the application of science and engineering principals developed by experts.

This represents a leap forward in quantifying how trees perform the job of a public utility by removing pollutants and controlling water runoff. These services are often provided by expensive city infrastructure, to the tune of millions of dollars. When trees are lost in large quantities, such as the recent loss of 15-16 million ash trees in Michigan due to emerald ash borer, city managers become acutely aware of their value. Perhaps money does grow on trees!

Give Green This Holiday

California Native Oaks (Click image to Enlarge)

This holiday, consider gift memberships to OCF for your friends and family members.
Donations of $50 or more will give you the choice of either:

1. Beautiful California Oak Poster (see image to the right)
• 36” x 24” Poster
• Printed on Recycled Paper
• Laminated version also available

2. Tree Magic CD (pdf file for use on a computer)
• 450 pages in color
• 169 poems & stories
• 115 photos & paintings

As a special bonus, donations of $100 or more will receive both gifts.

Or click here Donate Online

Eco-Silicon Valley - It's Easy to be Green - www.ecosiliconvalley.org