Jane Waeber: Plant Trees on Arbor Day

Other holidays repose upon the past, Arbor Day proposes for the future.
- J. Sterling Morton

When I sit in the window of the Noe Valley home I grew up in, I can not see the street or parked cars or hear the 35 Muni buses chugging up the hill. I see the trees my mother and her neighbors planted in 1972 to make our block green and inviting.

One hundred years earlier, in 1872, J. Sterling Morton, a Nebraska journalist, inaugurated the first massive tree plantings in the U.S. The first Arbor Day introduced more than 1 million trees to the desolate landscape his state had become.

In 1885, Arbor Day became an official observation in Nebraska, but the festivities quickly spread throughout the United States and to nations around the world.

This year, San Francisco is celebrating Arbor Day on Saturday, March 12. A city-coordinated planting along Ingalls Street in the Bayview and in McLaren Park will enrich the neighborhood with several hundred new trees and create a healthier urban environment. The massive tree planting is a collaborative effort led by SF Mayor Gavin Newsom, the SF Recreation and Park Department, SF Department of Public Works, SF Department of the Environment and the Urban Forest Council - along with the non-profit group Friends of the Urban Forest. 

City work crews will dig the holes and make sure the trees show up, but this presents a golden opportunity for residents to get involved and help with the planting. Afterwards, there will be a community celebration at McLaren Park with food, music and educational demonstrations.

Trees are a gift to city dwellers. A National Wildlife Federation study shows that nationwide, city streets could accommodate 60 million to 200 million more trees, potentially absorbing 33 million tons of carbon dioxide every year, providing 20 tons of oxygen and saving $4 billion in energy costs. In order to grow, trees remove carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere and provide us with fresh oxygen. By providing shade and blocking the wind, trees can also help us reduce our energy use up to 30 percent for cooling and from 20 percent to 50 percent for heating.

Trees are also umbrellas for the Earth, slowing the rate at which rainfall reaches the ground to help avoid sewer system overflows. This reduces one of the major causes for water pollution.

On Arbor Day - or any day - plant a tree.   

For more information about Arbor Day and tree plantings in your neighborhood, call (415) 554-5447 or visit the website at www.sfenvironment.org.

Jane Waeber volunteers at SF Environment, where she helps with World Environment Day planning.