The City of Morgan Hill is looking for volunteers to help plant 100 trees to be donated by Invest From the Ground Up and partner organizations.
The project is part of a widespread effort throughout the Bay Area to improve the air quality and educate the public about the importance of investing in trees and green spaces, according to a press release from Invest From the Ground Up.
The organization will be planting more than 1,700 new trees in the Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley over the coming months, according to the press release.
The City of Morgan Hill applied to be part of the program earlier this year, and will receive 100 of the trees to be planted in the City limits, according to Morgan Hill Program Administrator Anthony Eulo.
The local trees will be planted in four public parks: Paradise Park, Jackson Park, Galvan Park and a vacant parcel on Butterfield Boulevard between Dunne and Diana avenues, the City’s proposal says.
The trees include cork oaks, California big leaf maples, sawleaf zelcovas, valley oaks and live oaks. The City is requesting volunteers to help plant the trees on Feb. 15, Eulo said.
The project supports the City’s “environmental vision,” the City proposal says.
“The trees planted in our local parks are going to beautify our community for generations to come,” Eulo said.
Invest From the Ground Up promotes and seeks funding for similar projects throughout California, promoting trees’ direct effect on reducing “heat island effect,” reducing greenhouse gas emissions, saving energy, cleaning water and air, providing aesthetic and habitat value and improving public health, according to the press release.
“The cool thing about this program is that these trees will be workhorses, giving back from the moment they are planted,” said Program Director Connie Gallippi said.
Gallippi and her team have ensured that certified arborists will act as mentors at the tree planting events, teaching volunteers about the benefits of trees and demonstrating property planting standards, the press release says.
Funding for the project comes from the USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire).
This is the third project of this nature for this group, and was previously promoted under the name United Voices for Healthier Communities; the first was in 2007 and focused on Southern California communities, the second was in 2010 and focused on Fresno, San Diego, Folsom, and the Central Coast, according to the press release.
To volunteer to help plant trees in Morgan Hill Feb. 15, 2014, contact Eulo at (408) 776-7333, or by e-mail at
en*****@mo********.gov
.
For more information visit www.investfromthegroundup.org or contact Mary Pendleton at the Western Chapter International Society of Arboriculture,
ma**@wc***.net
or (415) 571-8616.
