News & Events
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Friends of the Urban Forest Holds 1000th Planting
Friends of the Urban Forest achieved a big milestone on Saturday, February 20th when it led a team of volunteers in planting trees in the Western Addition neighborhood. The event marked the 1000th time that FUF has planted trees in San Francisco since it was founded in 1981.
Julia Butterfly Hill warmed up the crowd as it gathered in the morning at Rosa Parks Elementary School. The environmentalist and activist is best-known for living in an ancient Humboldt County redwood tree for two years in the late 90's to prevent a lumber company from cutting it.
The February 20th planting of approximately 85 trees was among the largest FUF has done. Kaiser Permanente provided funding for the event.
"By planting these trees with help from Friends of the Urban Forest and Kaiser, we're realizing our dream of giving our students and our community a place of beauty and shade," said Barb Fujimoto, who heads the school's volunteer "Green Team" and helped organize the event.
At the potluck lunch following the planting, San Francisco's Greening Director, Astrid Haryati, presented FUF with a mayoral proclamation praising FUF's work and declaring the day to be "Friends of the Urban Forest Day."
For more news coverage on the event, please click the links below:
San Francisco Chronicle, February 21, 2010
"Plant a tree, build a community in S.F.", by Matthai Kuruvila
KCBS, December 7, 2009 (audio)
"Friends of the Urban Forest Offer a Twist on Tradition", by Tim Ryan
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Tree Awareness Campaign Comes to San Francisco |
This year, The Urban Forest Project will plant 100 street banners by local designers, artists and students in downtown San Francisco. Each banner will use a tree-related theme to make a powerful visual statement about the environment. Together they’ll create a forest of thoughtful images in one of the world’s most creative and sustainable cities. The project was originally executed in New York City and is being launched in San Francisco to engage the public in the City’s environmental efforts.
The banners will be hung on prominent city light poles. They will then be recycled into unique products designed exclusively for the project by Academy of Art University students that will then be sold. Proceeds will benefit Friends of the Urban Forest to sustain our efforts to create a greener San Francisco.
A portion of the banners were created by mentoring teams that paired designers and creative professionals with high school students from the following San Francisco youth programs: BAVC, SF Cameraworks: First Exposures, San Francisco Youth Commission, Southern Exposure and Young Artists at Work/Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
This highly visible public art and environmental initiative has the unique ability to unite the general public, creative professionals, the business community, local government, educators and students. However, the Urban Forest Project needs corporate sponsors to make this happen! Do you work for a company that wants to be visibly associated with environmental stewardship? Does your company want to be "seen as green"? If so, please contact apellegrino@worldstudioinc.com to discuss sponsorship opportunities.
I Need People That Can Make Some Noise With Me
by Greg Harrell-Edge, Community Outreach Coordinator
I can see that Friends of the Urban Forest is going to be doing a planting in my neighborhood, can I be part of the planting?”
I probably get a dozen of these calls right before every planting. As most of you surely know, in the weeks before a planting, FUF is all over the neighborhood. We are driving FUF trucks around, jumping out to measure distances between street signs, and marking sidewalks with big white stencils that say “FUF Tree Here!” We are only able to come to each neighborhood in the city every so often, but when we are there, we make some noise and let people know about it. The problem? All that noise is the best announcement that we are planting there, but it all happens after the deadline has passed for the forms to be turned in (forms are usually due a month before the planting).
“No, I’m really, really, really, really, really, sorry. If you can see that we are in your neighborhood, it’s probably too late to participate in this planting.”
That’s the answer I have to give people. Not pleasant, right? I started as the new Community Outreach Coordinator with Friends of the Urban Forest about two months ago, and yet I’m already tired of having to give that answer. Now, my job is to come to the neighborhood about 3 months before the planting date (so about 2 months before that finicky forms deadline) and let everyone in the neighborhood know that a planting is going on. My job is basically to make some noise.
At the start of this year, I want to officially launch a volunteer program called sTREEt team here at Friends of the Urban Forest. Our job will be to meet up on a Saturday afternoon about two months before each planting and try to let everyone in the neighborhood know that FUF is coming. We are the Paul Revere of Friends of the Urban Forest. We will set up a table, hang posters, divide up the neighborhood and have conversations with folks, and try to bang as many cowbells (metaphorically) (at least probably metaphorically) as possible.
I’m looking for FUF people who have trees and FUF people who want trees. I’m looking for people who have two green thumbs, and people who just have silver tongues. It may start small at first, but I’m looking for people that can come out, have some fun, contribute some ideas, walk a neighborhood, talk to some folks, spread the word, and help this thing to grow. What will also grow is the urban forest. This is the single most direct way that you can impact the number of trees that are planted in San Francisco this year. And, hopefully, the most fun way also.
If you may be one of those people, and there is even a tiny inkling of a chance that I might be able to get you to come out to one of our events, please do email me at greg@fuf.net, to find out our schedule coming up.
- Greg Harrell-Edge
Community Outreach Coordinator
Friends of the Urban Forest
415-561-6890, ext. 101
greg@fuf.net
