If you are interested in organizing, please contact Suzanne Whelan at (415) 561-6890 x101 or email suzanne@fuf.net to set up the area boundaries you will coordinate in. 

to organize a street tree planting, you must live in San Francisco, have good communication skills, be friendly plus have an eagerness to help improve your neighborhood. The work schedule is flexible. Please review the manual below for more information about job duties and FUF staff person's role.

Friends of the Urban Forest
Neighborhood
Organizer’s Manual

Thank you for organizing a tree planting in your neighborhood. This manual is filled with practical information and designed to make your experience a successful one. We’re here to help you. We prepare the ground, cut the sidewalk and provide the trees, materials, and the tools. You–and your neighbors–do the planting. For more information and assistance, please call our Coordinator of Volunteer Services at (415) 561-6890 x103.

Produced with the generous financial support of the California Releaf 2000 Capacity-Building Grant Program and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

Contents

1. What we do / What you do
2. Contacting your neighbors – Tips on making it easier
3. What your neighbors need to know – and do
4. Countdown to planting: your handy timeline
5. The benefits of trees

1. What we do/what you do

What we (Friends of the Urban Forest, or FUF) do:

• We subsidize some of the cost of planting trees.
• We supply DPW permits and FUF Letters of Agreement to be signed by your neighbors.
• We contact you to check your progress.
• We schedule the planting date.
• We set the community meeting date and facilitate the meeting.
• We work with DPW to approve the trees’ location.
• We provide technical assistance about tree selection and tree care.
• We employ contractors to cut sidewalks, remove concrete and prepare planting sites.
• We order trees, stakes and other planting materials; we supply tools and equipment for planting day.
• We provide experienced volunteers to lead and assist on planting day.

What you do:

• You receive organizer’s manual, map of planting area, and computer list of potential tree planters.
  
• You contact neighbors and invite them to participate in tree planting.
  
• You get neighbors to help in contacting other neighbors to be part of the planting.
• You sign up a minimum of 30 neighbors who want a tree. Even more is better!
• You distribute and collect signed Department of Public Works (DPW) permit applications and FUF letters of agreement to plant trees.
• You mail the forms to FUF whenever you have collected 5-10.
• You return the potential planter list with your corrections to FUF.
• You secure a location for community planting meeting.
• You follow the "Countdown to Planting" schedule contained in your Organizer’s Manual.

Contacting your neighbors

Getting started

• Distribute flyers in your planting area. Use sample flyers provided by FUF or make some of your own.
• Distribute materials/forms to all the homes in your area. Refer to the highlighted area on your map. Do not contact neighbors outside your planting area; other organizers will be calling them.
• Make personal contact with your neighbors! Visit them at their home, business, job etc.
• Call the people listed in the potential planters list that we send you. After you are done, mail it back to FUF with any corrections. FUF will mail you an updated list every two months.
• Include your neighbors in the effort.
• Ask interested neighbors to help. They can serve as block captains and follow up with door-to-door contacts of their own. Many people are happy to help, but only if asked!
• Contact institutions located in your planting area, schools, religious institutions, warehouses, etc. They could be a planting in themselves.
• Contact your Neighborhood Association. They can help spread the word. They also may be able to assist in fundraising to help lower the tree cost for property owners.
• Remind your neighbors that tree planting will be done at a low cost thanks to your group’s participation.

You are the key person

• Even with block captains helping out, you are the principal contact with FUF.
• We depend on you to stay in touch with block captains in your area.
• Take advantage of the FUF office. And contact the FUF Coordinator of Volunteer Services at least once per month to update your progress. We’re here to help you.

Contacting your neighbors

• Be a leader
• Your neighbors will be getting a terrific value, and they will be very thankful for your efforts.
• People will be calling you for help once the word is out. Encourage them to call their friends and include them in the process.
• Most people who initially reject planting trees on their sidewalk change their minds once they find out the process. Many do not know we can cut the sidewalk and plant there!
• Propose a date for your planting. This will motivate your block captains to finish the job.

Getting the ball rolling

• Once you have collected about 25-30 signed applications, contact the Coordinator of Volunteer Services at FUF to evaluate your progress. If you are close to having 30 forms and verbal commitments, the Planting Director will call you.
• The Planting Director at FUF will set up your planting date and assign you a planting manager.
• Once you have collected 30 signed forms, a FUF Planting Manager will then work with you through the rest of the process until planting day.
• Neighbors are expected to participate actively only twice, once for a community meeting, and once for the planting.
• Keep collecting new applications right up to the deadline set by the Planting Manager. We want your planting to include 50-60 trees, in order to maximize your efforts and make your neighborhood even more beautiful.

What your neighbors need to know – and do

The most important thing your neighbors must do is fill out and sign their DPW permit applications and the FUF Letter of Agreement and return them to you. These forms must be signed by the property owner. One set of forms must be filled out for each separate building, even if they are owned by the same person. It is alright to photocopy or fax the forms, but we cannot accept faxed signatures. We will need the original signatures on all forms.

In addition to returning their signed forms, your neighbors need to know–

• Trees can be planted on treeless sidewalks (we cut the sidewalk and prepare the soil).
• Trees cannot be planted in Red-marked bus zones, unless the width of the sidewalk is greater than 15 feet excluding the curb.
• Trees must be planted 25 feet back (approximately 8 squares) from a stop sign or the approach to an intersection.
• Minimum spacing for trees should be 18 feet for proper growth.
• Sidewalks must be a minimum of 6 feet wide (approximately 2 squares), not including the curb. If sidewalks are less than 6 feet, trees may only be planted in lawn or set-back areas. Check with FUF before proceeding if you have any questions about the width of sidewalks in your area.
• Some large commercial buildings have basements that extend under the sidewalk–watch for them!
• Single family dwellings usually can accommodate only one tree, but larger lots, corner buildings, and commercial buildings may get as many trees as spacing and other regulations allow. If you’re unsure, ask FUF!
• Plastic rootguards, which encourage the roots to grow down rather than out and may prevent cracking sidewalks, are also available for an additional $25. They are recommended for some species.
• FUF charges $150 per tree. $35 of it covers an arborist’s visit at 18 months and the other $115 pays for hard cost including concrete cutting and other materials.
• If in doubt whether a tree will meet the guidelines at a specific property, go ahead and sign them up. It will not cost the property owner anything if we find out their trees have been disallowed. Check your own property first!

Replacement Trees
As you go through your neighborhood, you may encounter people who have planted with us before but whose trees have died or been removed. Don’t forget to look for these empty basins and dead trees. Go ahead and sign them up, then check with FUF about replacing their tree(s). These trees can likely be replaced during your neighborhood planting. Be sure the property owner fills out the FUF form properly and checks the "replacement" box.

Trees on Private Property
In rare circumstances, if there is no other way a tree can be planted in the sidewalk, we may allow a tree in private property if it is close enough to the sidewalk to be considered a street tree. FUF will help decide these on a case-by-case basis.

Nine week countdown
Once you submit all forms and the corrected potential planter list to FUF, we will set a planting date and assign a Planting Manager. It takes a minimum of 10 weeks from the time the planting date is set until the actual planting. But don’t stop contacting your neighbors and collecting forms. Many people wait to sign up until they know the exact date of your planting. The approximate schedule listed below may change, depending on the number of trees planted and the availability of your neighbors.

Planting day–Saturday

8:00 a.m.
Everyone meets at the delivery location. Designated neighbors provide coffee and donuts. Others drive trucks and distribute trees and supplies.

9:00 a.m. After trees are distributed
Planting demonstration.

9:15 a.m.—12 Noon
Neighbors break into small groups supervised by FUF’s volunteer planting leaders and plant trees. Everyone works until all the trees are planted.

Approximately Noon
Potluck lunch and celebration.

Benefits of trees

• Trees enhance property values. A block of houses with street trees increases property values by 20%.
  
• Trees fight pollution by filtering particulates from the air and releasing oxygen.
  
• Trees increase privacy and help absorb traffic noise.
  
• Trees create relaxing, beautiful and healthy spaces.
• Trees provide habitat for the city’s wildlife (birds, squirrels).
• Trees shelter homes from strong winds, and reduce energy bills.
• Trees reduce reflected heat and glare.
• Trees provide city streets with seasonal color and fragrance.

Some arguments against trees–and how you can address them

Trees waste water.
Not so. A young tree needs a minimum of just 15 gallons of water a week–equivalent to 2% of the average person’s weekly water use (and costs less than $3.00 in the three years it takes the tree’s roots to reach the natural water table).

Trees crack sidewalks.
This can be avoided by selecting proper species, providing good maintenance, installing deep-watering tubes and using root guards for certain species.

Tree roots invade underground utilities and pipes.
Selecting appropriate species can help avoid this problem.

Trees require expensive maintenance.
The cost of maintaining your tree is a fraction of the amount it will add to your property value. A regular tree care program can keep costs low.

Trees create a mess.
There are many species of trees to choose from that do not drop flowers or fruits, and trees that drop leaves infrequently.

Trees promote crime.
On the contrary, the presence of trees on a block communicates a statement of caring and neighborliness; the absence of trees communicates neglect. Residents, and visitors, do get the message.

Tree basins accumulate debris and attract animals.
Simply install bricks in the basin or mulch the surface with shredded bark mulch.

Trees are expensive.
Joining a community planting with FUF costs far less than hiring a contractor or planting trees yourself. It’s only $150 for each tree!