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Uploaded: Saturday, January 30, 2010, 2:04 PM
Volunteers replant trees along California Avenue
Forty-four trees find new homes in Palo Alto's second business district
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by Jocelyn Dong
Palo Alto Online Staff
Photos
 
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| The trees are back on California Avenue -- and not without considerable fanfare.
What started as a black eye for the City of Palo Alto last September ended as a community celebration of trees Saturday morning, as more than 150 volunteers turned out to re-plant the street.
"It's a glorious day today," Catherine Martineau, executive director of the nonprofit Canopy, told the assembled teams of volunteers before they fanned out to plant 44 new trees.
Team No. 1, led by Canopy veteran Paul Staley, descended upon a 10-foot-tall southern live oak standing in a pot next to a hole in the ground at El Camino Real and California. Shovels in hand, the group of six set about placing the oak in its new home, taking care that it stood erect.
For some, the act was a chance to right a wrong.
Nancy Lowe recalled the day last fall when the trees were cut down, leaving the street barren.
"I cried when I saw it," she said.
Galvanized, she later joined an ad hoc citizens group that worked with the city and businesses to develop a new tree plan.
Lowe said she was particularly moved Saturday by a Native American blessing ceremony that launched the event. Starting at the California Avenue fountain, a Cherokee drummer chanted and led volunteers down the avenue. At each tree well, the group of Native Americans used burning sage, acorn meal and sacred water to prepare the site for its new occupant.
Some people turned out Saturday as a way to give back to the community and make new friends.
"You can't badmouth planting trees," longtime Palo Alto resident and city employee Robbie Parry quipped.
Business owner Mahin Ghazi watched volunteers plant an oak in front of her beauty salon. Previously, a much larger oak had shaded the sidewalk, but it had been diseased, she said, and it threatened to crack the pavement.
She looked approvingly at the smaller replacement.
"When I saw this tree, I loved it. It's beautiful," she said. "I think it's going to be wonderful."
Numerous passersby stopped to watch the action, some taking pictures.
Elizabeth Arndorfer, a Barron Park neighborhood resident, strolled the street with her family.
"It's very inspirational so many people came out for it. That's a neat aspect of Palo Alto; people come willing to pitch in," Arndorfer said.
Elizabeth Robinson, a tree planter, agreed.
"It's nice they included the volunteers," she said. "They didn't have to do that at all."
In total, 65 trees (six species) are being planted along California Avenue, according to Mike Sartor, deputy director of the city's Public Works Department. Some of the larger ones will need to the planted by the city.
Decisions about four trees that are proposed near public art still need to be made by the city's Public Art Commission, Sartor said.
With his department once in the cross-hairs of community wrath, Sartor was pleased to see the progress Saturday.
"It's 'New Trees for a New Year,'" he said, smiling.
As the tree love-fest wound down around noon, the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band made a boisterous appearance, a Mayor's Tree ceremony was about to start, and Team No. 1 finished planting in front of Ghazi's shop.
The team members stood back to admire their work, the oak's dark green leaves shiny in the sunlight.
"It's a nice tree," volunteer Sally O'Neil said.
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| Comments
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Posted by Alex, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Feb 1, 2010 at 9:01 am Nice PR from the City. Good job Palo Alto! I'm sure the final product will look fantastic. Now the whiners will need to find something else to complain about.
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Posted by Alan, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Feb 1, 2010 at 10:57 am After the clearcutting, I looked around for an organization that protects trees in Palo Alto. Canopy wasn't hard to find, and I joined it immediately.
Saturday's event convinced me that I made the right decision. Canopy shares with residents Fred and Ann Balin the credit for leading the movement to redirect the city's ill-advised replanting plan to what was finally achieved.
I think everyone who wishes to prevent another fiasco like last September's tree cutting needs to get involved with their neighborhood association. I believe that if more people had been involved it wouldn't have happened.
In addition, please support Canopy.
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Posted by Leslie G., a resident of the Evergreen Park neighborhood, on Feb 1, 2010 at 3:32 pm This was truly an awesome experience! I was so heartbroken, as was so many other people, to see our lovely trees go... Now, my heart is absolutely filled with such joy, gratitude and thankfulness that I was given the opportunity to give back to nature and help heal a little piece of Mother Earth!
Our tree was planted directly in front of Bistro Elan and... her name is Linda!
Please support her and the other trees and watch how beautifully they grow!
Thank you Canopy and our lovely City! This was truly a good deed... indeed!!
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Posted by Sarah, a resident of the College Terrace neighborhood, on Feb 1, 2010 at 5:13 pm So glad the trees are back!
To add to the neat choice of date of the day - it happens that Saturday was the Jewish festival of Tu B'shvat which is the new year of the trees where we celebrate nature and all trees give us.
Web Link
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Posted by Cedric de La Beaujardiere, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Feb 1, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Cedric de La Beaujardiere is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online I too was pleased to be able to participate with my wife, and a great team of volunteers, in the replanting of California Avenue. I was especially thrilled to plant a Freeman Maple in front of Printer's Cafe, which I'll be able to watch grow as I sip their mochas. Ninety-six photos chronicling the event are viewable here (I'm in the orange vest): Web Link
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Posted by Harmony, a resident of another community, on Feb 1, 2010 at 9:28 pm Now time for harmony, consensus, and amity throughtout all of Palo Alto! No more controversies from this day forward!!
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Posted by clint, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Feb 2, 2010 at 3:04 pm A great example of community coming together to fix something. Kudos to Canopy and all the volunteers!
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Posted by Mayfield Child, a resident of the Green Acres neighborhood, on Feb 2, 2010 at 6:25 pm I had thought about driving around town the week after Christmas to look for Christmas trees that were left out on the curbs. I had thought of taking them to California Avenue and tying them to the cold bare grey lamp posts to give a little green coloring back (temporarily) into the area.
The thought was there, but not my energy!
Glad to see that other people are taking to saving the face of California Avenue :) It was heartbreaking to see the trees I grew up with destroyed.
I, for one, want to give thanks to all that gave of their time and energy so that we all can enjoy the beauty that the trees bring to the Avenue.
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Posted by Harmony, a resident of another community, on Feb 3, 2010 at 1:57 pm Finally, the trees are re-planted and there is peace in the valley!!
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