|
|
The Voice of Our City Forest
November 2009 Newsletter
| |
A message from Our City Forest...We hope you enjoy reading our e-newsletter editions. This new electronic format not only saves trees and resources, but allows us to send more frequent updates. Print editions of The Voice of Our City Forest will now be mailed on a seasonal basis.
With the holidays approaching, be sure to check out this edition's Special Holiday Announcements section for tree-themed ways to celebrate. And don't forget, there's no better gift than a tree! See Support OCF for ways to "green" your holiday shopping.
Happy holidays from all of us at Our City Forest!
What do you think of our e-newsletter? We invite and encourage
your feedback! Please contact our newsletter staff at x105.
|
Community Volunteers in Action
To all of our hard-working Tree Amigos and community volunteers - we couldn't do it without you! Special thanks to all City of San José councilmembers for their ongoing support and attendance at Our City Forest events. Visit us online to view and download our latest photo collage. |
100K Tree Project Update
|
Thanks to the City of San José and a generous grant from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF), Our City Forest (OCF) will begin development of a community tree nursery in order to help achieve the Green Vision goal of planting 100,000 trees.
The future site of OCF's new tree nursery is
currently an empty lot near I-880 in San José.
When fully operational, the nursery will have the capacity to provide 6,000 trees annually for OCF community projects. The new facility will not only help support the ambitious Green Vision tree-planting goal, but also provide a sustainable, local source of high-quality trees, a long-time goal of Our City Forest.
The project began when OCF proposed it the San José Mayor's Office as a key strategy for achieving the 100K tree goal. They agreed to support the plan and encouraged OCF to move forward. OCF's subsequent proposal to CDF was successful, adding additional momentum the project. Urban Tree Foundation's Brian Kempf and Doug Wildman of Friends of the Urban Forestprovided OCF arborists with helpful advice at this early stage.
City staff have picked up the ball, providing extensive technical expertise. With approval from the Guadalupe Park Technical Advisory Committee, an unused 3-acre parcel was identified by Cary Green of the S.J. Airport and Mike Will of S.J. Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS). Marybeth Harasz completed a site design, and Brian Hartsell is coordinating the permit requirements.
"Our City Forest has always wanted to propagate its own stock from local seeds in order to provide more natives and species diversity," said OCF Arborist Christian Bonner. "The 100K tree goal provided a sense of urgency to finally do it and the result will be a healthier urban ecosystem."
OCF will continue to purchase many of its trees from local nurseries with grant funding, while this facility will provide thousands of additional trees that OCF could not otherwise obtain for San José neighborhoods.
OCF hopes to begin site preparations by the end of the year but will need in-kind assistance for site grading and related work before it's volunteer corps can construct the greenhouse and install the irrigation system.
Forward strides on behalf of our local urban forest have been made possible as a result of the collaboration between the City and Our City Forest. The community tree nursery project is living proof! |
Give A Gift That Grows
'Tis the season to show your support with these "green" ideas!
A donation of just $40 will purchase one 15-gallon tree, which Our City Forest will later plant at a school, park or street in San José.
 Choose to sponsor one of the five species below:
- Sycamore (Platanus acerfolia)
- Pistache (Pistachia chinensis)
- Fruitless Pear (Pyrus calleryana)
- Zelkova (Zelkova serrata)
- Accolade elm (Ulmus 'Accolde')
To
commemorate this "green" gift, you will receive a certificate of
recognition and beautiful color photo of your species by mail.
Zelkova serrata
Please contact Jing Cai at (408) 99-TREES x107
to Sponsor-a-Species today! |
Become A Member
Your donation brings us closer to the "green" vision for San José!
As thanks for your support, we'll send a FREE gift. |
$50 or more
 Native Oaks poster
|
$100 or more
Urban Forest book
|
|
All donations are tax-deductible and fund planting and education programs!
|
Support While You Shop
Shop Amazon.com via the link on our website and
4% of profits will be donated to Our City Forest. |
Sign up with eScrip and stores will
donate to OCF every time you shop. |
Don't forget to visit OCF's online store for more gift ideas!
|
SPECIAL HOLIDAY ANNOUNCEMENTS
|
Living Holiday Trees Green San José
This season, choose a living tree and donate it for planting at a school or
park in the city. Rather than ending up in a landfill, your tree can provide
shade and clean air for years to come! 
How does it work?
2. Select a tree from OCF's list of preferred species.
3. Gradually introduce your tree to the indoors, water regularly and keep away from direct heat.
4. Slowly transition back outside after 10-14 days.
5. Drop off at OCF's Kelley Park Tree Bank location on January 2nd or 9th.
6. Receive a tax deduction for your gift!Contact Our City Forest or visit us online for more info.DID YOU KNOW? A tree may live 100+ years, removing
nearly 2 tons of carbon in its lifetime.
|
|
Eco-Holiday Workshop
Go green and save money this holiday season! Join Our City Forest for its second annual workshop event.
December 5th
4-6 pm at the OCF office
Create homemade gifts, make one-of-a-kind wrapping paper from recycled items, learn earth-friendly cooking tips and more.Free admission and raffle entry. Refreshments and supplies will be provided.
RSVP required. Please contact Meg at x123 to reserve your space today. |
|
Local Partnership Provides Trees
Willow Glen brings holiday cheer with an eco-friendly message.
 Setting a "green" example in the community, the Willow Glen Business Association has chosen to use only living trees in their downtown decorations this year. The trees, which feature energy-saving
LED lights, will be displayed along Lincoln Avenue through Dec. 30th.
Following the holidays, all 73 Deodar Cedar used in the displays will be donated to Our City Forest for planting at schools and parks in San José.
Thanks to this exciting partnership, these seasonal decorations can beautify our city not only during the holidays but for years to come as the trees take root across San José.
|
|
We are excited to announce that OCF will have a tree at this year's Christmas in the Park in downtown San José!
November 27th
9 am - 12 pmPlease RSVP for this fun holiday event at x123.
Be sure to visit our community tree through Dec. 31st. Special thanks to everyone who joined us in making OCF ornaments for the event! |
Our Trees - Then & Now
Barren Before
|
By 1999, Our City Forest had planted more than 100 trees at Steinbeck Middle School in San José. Tree Amigo Ken Hardy helped at the original event and is still an active OCF volunteer.
Take a look at the trees today...
|
|
10 Years Later
|
|
|
|
See next month's newsletter for another look at Our Trees - Then & Now!
|
Graduating Recovery Act Members
 In early 2009, Our City Forest was awarded a one-year federal stimulus grant that added 36 part-time AmeriCorps members to its service team.
Graduating OCF members
(from left) Gil Bashan, Steven Agustin,
Stephanie Finck and Jason Maki.
With this Recovery Act funding, OCF was able to provide 16 part-time AmeriCorps members to assist the City of San José Arborist Office with a citywide tree inventory project. The remaining 20 joined Our City Forest's full-time team working on planting and education projects.
Having completed 675 hours of service, 17 of the Recovery Act part-time members will graduate from our program in December. Four of these individuals worked out of the OCF office while the other 13 served on the Tree Inventory team. Our City Forest's remaining part-time members will continue to serve through May 2010.
On behalf of the entire OCF team and the San José Arborist office staff, we thank this dedicated group of Recovery Act members for their service to the community and wish them all the best with their future endeavors!
|
Tree Amigo Training
Join our dedicated team of volunteers! This free 20-hour course will prepare
you to assist OCF at planting events, coach volunteers and provide tree care. Classes include species ID, young tree pruning, a walking tree tour and more.
 Course begins January 13th
Wednesdays 6-8 pm at OCF
- Jan. 13th, 20th, 27th & Feb. 3rd
Saturdays 9 am -12 pm at various locations around San José.
- Jan. 16th, 20th, 30th & Feb. 6th
OCF arborist Christian Bonner (right) teaches pruning to a group of Tree Amigos, including Louie Urbina (left).
|
Green & Healthy UpdateProgram graduates will receive a money-saving resource guide. Thanks to an exciting new partnership with EcoMetro, graduates of OCF's FREE green-living workshop series will receive a 2010 EcoMetro Guide to the Silicon Valley.
With over 300 coupons to use at local businesses, making "green" change has never been so easy.
Classes begin January 2010
Check out Our City Forest in the EcoMetro Guide on pages 28, 47, 197 and 205.
|
 WestGate Church Volunteers
Thanks to help from a hard-working group of WestGate Church volunteers, 252 San José residents received information about tree planting in their neighborhood.
As a part of the Beautiful Day program's Week of Service, church members spent their Saturday morning door-knocking in the East Valley/I-680 area.
"Compassion and stewardship of the planet was our connection to OCF," said Jon Talbert, who oversees the Beautiful Day program at WestGate.
In preparation, the group received training from OCF AmeriCorps members to learn outreach protocol and planting requirements. Together the volunteers succeeded in collecting eight completed street tree applications, which is very impressive by door-knocking standards.
Their dedication to service sets an example in the community and will ensure more trees are planted in San José. From all of us at Our City Forest, thank you!
|
Upcoming EventsCheck online for frequent tree planting updates!
27 Christmas in the Park Tree Decorating
28 Trees For All Planting Demonstration - Zip Code 95139
December
5 Tree Bank Work Day
5 Trees for All Planting Demostration - Zip Code 95122
5 Heritage Holiday Fair at History Park - Booth
5 Webelos Forester Pin Program - Office Presentation
5 Eco-friendly Holiday Workshop
9 Tree Talk at Booksin Elementary
10 Tree Talk at College Connection Academy
12 Trees For All Planting Demonstration - Zip Code TBD
12 Webelos Forester Pin Program - Tree Bank Work Day
12 Tree Bank Work Day
12 Santa Visits Alviso - Booth
19 Trees For All Planting Demonstration - Zip Code TBD
19 Webelos Forester Pin Program - Tree Bank Work Day
19 Tree Bank Work Day
29 Giving Back Days - Booth
January
2 Trees For All Planting Demonstration - Zip Code TBD
2 Living Christmas Tree Drop-off at Tree Bank
9 Trees For All Planting Demonstration - Zip Code TBD
9 Living Christmas Tree Drop-off at Tree Bank
9 Webelos Forester Pin Program - Office Presentation
13 Tree Amigo Class
13 Volunteer Meeting - Compost Workshop
For your convenience, tree-planting and tree-care events are listed in green, educational presentations and outreach events in blue and OCF meetings, workshops and classes in red! Call (408) 998-7337 x123 or e-mail OCF to volunteer. |
Thanks For Your Support!
|
Redwood Circle - $100-$499
Chris & Danene Lee
Norton & Shirley Louie
Loui Tucker
Tree Ambassadors - Up to $99
Dilnaaz Ashaf
Mei-Li Chung
Jennifer Correa
Kevin & Amy Delaney
Rudolph DuBord Jr.
Greg Gardener
Guido & Jodene Grilli
Phillip Koza
|
Gaspar & Marie Licea
Yeo Ying Liou
Leulla Luttman
Frank Maro
Mathew McCombs
Huzefa & Reena Mehta
Acevedo Ortiz
Bradley & Janet Phinick
David Ray
Ramon Sanchez
Thomas Sullivan
Winston Sun
Deepak Vij
Shelgon & Xiaowei Ye
|
To become an Our City Forest member, contact our helpful staff at x103.
|
Our City Forest is a non-profit organization with the mission of cultivating a sustainable city and a sense of community by involving Silicon Valley residents from all walks of life in the development and stewardship of the urban environment.
www.ourcityforest.org |
|
|
|
|
|
|
