Useful Links

This page contains listings of resources you may find useful, grouped in the categories listed below.

To find arborists, and to get assistance with pruning, tree removal, and sidewalk repairs, please see our Arborist Referrals page.

• California Urban Forestry Legislation
• Free Wood Chips, Mulch, & Compost
• Garden Tools/Irrigation
• General Education
• Governmental Agencies
• Metal Tree Protection and Grates
• Moving Large Trees
• Non-Profit Organizations — Bay Area
• Non-Profit Organizations — California
• Non-Profit Organizations — National
• Pest Control
• Planter Boxes
• Retail Nurseries
• Soil & Plant Tissue Analysis
• Urban Wood from Urban Trees

California Urban Forestry Legislation

• Urban Forestry Act of 1978 (2008 version)

Free Wood Chips, Mulch, & Compost

• Bay View Greenwaste – 1300 Carroll Ave., San Francisco, office 415-822-7686, cell 650-222-0174

Garden Tools/Irrigation

• A.M. Leonard – For mail order only with good selection
• Clean City Tool Lending Center – Borrow tools for all sorts of jobs – free membership, useful workshops
• Ewing Irrigation and Landscape Products – Also sells tree stakes
• The Urban Farmer Store  – Local source for all irrigation and outdoor lighting needs and gardening tools

General Education

• City College Environmental Horticulture Department
• Foothill College Environmental Horticulture & Design
• Merritt College Landscape Horticulture Department
• San Francisco Professional Gardeners Association – Has monthly educational workshops
• UC Cooperative Extension – Master Gardeners of San Mateo & San Francisco

Governmental Agencies

• California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection – Urban and Community Forestry
• San Francisco Department of the Environment – Coordinates various environmental programs put on by the city.
• San Francisco Department of Public Works – Bureau of Urban Forestry – For planting and removal permits for sidewalk trees and sidewalk landscaping permits. Understaffed due to low funding; please be patient! They are good people.
• San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department – For trees in parks and in sidewalks adjacent to parks
• UC Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardeners of San Mateo & San Francisco
• US Forest Service – Pacific Southwest Research Station

Metal Tree Protection and Grates

• Consult the DPW Bureau of Urban Forestry before installing metalwork around your tree to find out whether a permit is required: 415-641-2676.
• Borrmann Steel – For steel poles, 415-621-3063
• Iron Age Designs – Tree grates
• David O’Keefe – Metal worker, 925-837-4440

Moving Large Trees

• Valley Crest Tree Company – Successfully moved several large trees in the Presidio during development of the Letterman Center site. 800-376-4260.

Non-Profit Organizations – Bay Area

• Asian Pacific Environmental Network – Economic and Environmental Justice Organization
• Canopy – Tree planting and educational organization in Palo Alto·
• Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy — Help restore coastal habitat
• Literacy for Environmental Justice — Environmental education and empowerment for youth
• Marin ReLeaf – Tree planting organization
• Mission Creek Bikeway and Greenbelt — Help create a greenbelt where Mission Creek used to flow
• National AIDS Memorial Grove
• Our City Forest –Tree planting organization in San Jose
• Plant SF – Can help you with the process of creating a sidewalk garden
• Quesada Gardens – Building community, connecting across our differences, and strengthening local systems in the Bayview Hunters Point Neighborhood of San Francisco through strategies that have emerged from the grassroots: community and backyard gardens, public art projects, events, and more.
• San Francisco Beautiful
• San Francisco Botanical Gardens at Strybing Arboretum — Amazing gardens of plants from all over the world.
• San Francisco Parks Alliance – A coalition of community based groups actively improving neighborhood parks
• San Francisco Planning & Urban Research (SPUR) –Urban planning and advocacy organization
• San Francisco Urban Forest Council – Advisory council to the City on tree-related topics
• SF Trees –San Francisco tree advocate’s educational website
• Sustainable City –Dedicated to achieving a sustainable future for San Francisco
• Urban Ecology – Helping to create healthy and thriving neighborhoods
• Urban Habitat Program – Improving low-income communities in the San Francisco Bay Area
• Urban Releaf – Tree planting and youth employment organization in Oakland

Non-Profit Organizations – California

Photo by Bradley Herman.

• California Native Plant Society — Education about native plants from our region
• California Oak Foundation
• California Rare Fruit Growers — Information about fruit trees and their care
• California Urban Forests Council – Dedicated to improving california’s urban forest ecosystems
• UrbanTree Foundation — Tree planting and advocacy organization in Visalia, ca

Non-Profit Organizations – National

• Alliance for Community Trees
• American Forests
• American Nursery & Landscape Association
• American Society of Landscape Architects
• Arbor Day Foundation
• The Morton Arboretum
• National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council
• Project Learning Tree
• Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute

Pest Control

• California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection – Pest Management
• UC Davis Integrated Pest Management
• UC Davis Integrated Pest Management En Español

Planter Boxes

• Boxes around trees should not bury the root crown or trunk.  A “box within a box” design is best.  See our Sidewalk & Basin Care page for examples.

Retail Nurseries

• Bay Natives – 415-287-6755
• Berkeley Horticultural Nursery
• East Bay Nursery – 510-845-6490
• Flora Grubb Gardens
• Flowercraft Garden Center – 415-824-1900
• Sloat Garden Center – 415-566-4415
• Wegman’s Nursery – 650-368-5908
• Yerba Buena Nursery – 650-851-1668

Soil & Plant Tissue Analysis

• Perry Laboratory
• Soil and Plant Lab
• Soil Foodweb

Urban Wood from Urban Trees

• Green Waste Recycle Yard – Dimensional lumber and mulch