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30 trees being planted in the Richmond District this Saturday

Posted on by Sarah B.

On Saturday, Friends of the Urban Forest will be teaming up with residents to plant new trees in several locations in the inner Richmond District.

FUF Planting Manager Sally Bentz tells us they will be planting 30 trees in total, including four at Sutro Elementary School, and another 5 at Star of the Sea School.

Species being planted include Strawberry Tree, Washington Thorn, Bronze Loquat, Flowering Cherry, and Small Leaf Tristania’s.

Friends of the Urban Forest helps residents across the city get new trees planted in their neighborhood. If you’d like to request a planting or volunteer to help with a planting effort, visit the FUF website for more information.

Thanks to RichmondSFBlog reader Tom for the tip!

Sarah B.

17 Comments

  2. Glad to hear that more trees will be spotted in our District. But I am curious, why are native species not being used?

  3. @mel – I know there’s a “science” to choosing urban trees that get planted by FUF. A lot of it has to do with how the trees grow and evolve over time, e.g. they want to plant species whose roots don’t interfere with sewers etc.

    There are many tales of homeowners putting in trees that 10 years later cost them thousands in damages to their sidewalks because they just didn’t choose the right kind to plant. So FUF definitely has specific reasons for choosing the trees that they do.

    Sarah B.

  4. The strawberry tree “Arbitus Marina” was developed in/for San Francisco and about a third of the FUF trees are of this species. It doesn’t grow large enough to interrupt power lines or disturb sidewalks.

    I know this because we in the Mid-Richmond district are getting our FUF tree-planting next weekend.

    If you don’t know about Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF), you definitely don’t know San Francisco. They’ve been around for many decades and have planted more trees in the city, total, than there are in all of Golden Gate Park.

  5. The trees along lake street are great example why trees should be planted in an urban area. I wonder how big these trees get and how fast they grow. However, I would of liked to see greener trees instead of the pinkish ones but either way its a start.

  6. Jill, no need to be testy. I do know about FUF and their mission. I was not against what they were planting; I was just wondering why they were not using native species. The fact that their height stays below the power lines and have manageable root structures makes sense. I know that one of my neighbors had to remove their magnolia because it was growing into the power lines and her aging made it difficult for her to keep it pruned.

  7. Hi everybody- I was at the tree planting this morning. Take a look at Balboa St. @ 11th ave- SE corner. We planted 5 new Bronze Loquats. We really changed the look of that block!

  8. Will have to take a looksee. I hope you go them in before the rains this afternoon/evening. I am sure the trees loved the drink.

  9. How would we get this done on 19th Avenue and further out? It’s like the area is a vast wasteland of sidewalk, weeds, and litter. Trees would be a lovely sight.

  10. I had some education on this subject myself a few years ago, when I asked the same question about natives (which is definitely a concern/interest of mine). It does have to do with roots, also with how much maintenance (trimming, pruning) is required, the life-span, their resistance to the pollution from cars passing them on the street…may factors. Having said that, I am not sure that DPW is perhaps as concerned about this topic as they might be (I could be wrong, but that was my impression) and any “interest” that the residents of San Francisco could show in this regard and any (polite) questions we might want to ask about this couldn’t hurt.

  11. @Paul C. – Lets talk about planting in the 19th Ave. corridor!

    Hi all – I’m happy to answer any questions you may have about tree planting in San Francisco. Feel free to give a call: 415-268-0773.

    Best

    Doug L
    FUF Community Outreach Coordinator

  12. I’m hope to plant on 9th avenue (with or without FUF – but hopefully with!) as our block definitely needs some greening. A lot of sidewalk and not much love. I’ll have to check out 11th Avenue!

  14. @Doug- Let’s get something going for the 19th Ave. corridor. What’s the best way to get in touch with you?

  16. I think the only “native species” of plant life you will find in the richmond is scrub grass and the following photo from 1904 will attest. I remember reading someplace that when they were planting Golden Gate Park that every blade of grass would need two stakes and string to hold it in place.
    http://webbie1.sfpl.org/multimedia/sfphotos/AAC-0614.jpg

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