Tree Planting

Today I joined with some folks from the local chapter of the Sierra Club to plant trees in Oakland.  I had been hearing about this project for several weeks (I sit on several committees in the local Club) and was sort of excited to finally be able to go out and participate myself.  It was a real learning experience.
Basically this volunteer-run project involves planting trees in front of homes throughout Oakland where the owners have made requests to the Oakland Tree Services Division (which I understand belongs to the Dept. of Public Works) for trees.  Since the City of Oakland has drastically reduced the budget for tree planting, it can no longer keep up with demand from residents for new street trees (which involves planting small trees from local nurseries between the sidewalk and the street in selected locations).  There appears to be a backlog of anywhere from 3 months to 3 years (really - one of the property owners we talked to today said he had ordered his tree "3 years ago.").  Our role as volunteer planters, then, is to supplement or even replace city staff in planting trees.

One good side effect of this effort was that we all learned something about planting trees.  For instance, you need to "break up the root ball" before you plant the tree in the ground.  Second, surround the root ball with compost, if possible.  Third, put some mulch / bark on top of the root ball to prevent water "burn off" by the sun.

The homeowners we talked to were grateful for our services.  In light of the slow response by the city to tree requests, who can blame them for being upset, and therefore happy when volunteers come to do the job (that many feel) the city should be doing.