CANOPY BLOG

Celebrate California Arbor Week!

By Canopy Team on March 7, 2017

March 7-14 is California Arbor Week! Celebrate with Canopy:

If you’re looking for a way to celebrate trees, join Canopy and friends for the Community Arbor Day Festival at Mitchell Park on Saturday, March 11th. The festival is full of tree-tastic fun for all ages, featuring favorites like roped tree climbing with Tree Circus, live music by Andy Z, delicious eats from local food trucks, and much more.

New this year: Workshop “Mini-Series”

One exciting new element this year is a tree-focused workshop series featuring San Francisco Bay Area tree experts. The speakers will discuss several hot-topic tree issues that community members have said they want to learn more about:

10:30am – All About Fruit Trees

with Kevin Raftery, arborist and horticultural expert

Explore fruit tree selection, pruning, and more so that you can reap the benefits of a well cared-for fruit tree.

11:30am – Tree Risk Assessment for Homeowners

with Dr. Igor Lacan, UC Extension Urban Forestry Advisor

Ever wondered if a tree is “safe”? We’ll look at “the body language of trees” to understand defects and hazards associated with trees in landscapes.

12:30pm – Planning a Greener Future for Palo Alto

with Walter Passmore, Urban Forester for City of Palo Alto

Learn more about Palo Alto’s progress infusing trees into the City’s long-term vision, and explore the measurable benefits of trees in the urban landscape. 

Get the full Festival line-up or visit the Workshop Series Eventbrite to reserve your seat today.

About the Speakers

Kevin Raftery is a renowned arborist, horticulturist, educator and author who has a deep knowledge and passion for trees that has transformed landscapes and inspired generations of gardeners. For over 30 years, Kevin has owned and operated Kevin Raftery Horticultural Services, providing expert fine pruning and horticultural consulting throughout the Bay Area. He is also a skilled designer, and often works on projects with his wife and fellow landscape designer, Kim. Since 2004, Kevin has lent his expertise as a pruning and horticulture instructor at Foothill College.

 

 

Igor Lacan is a University of California Cooperative Extension Advisor for the San Francisco Bay Area, specializing in urban forestry. He provides technical and policy tools to advance sustainable environmental management. With a focus on urban trees and water, he develops research projects on emerging issues in urban landscapes and produces materials that transfer findings from the University of California and other academic sources to the practitioners. He also serves as a technical resource for professionals, nonprofits, and local governments.

 

 

Walter Passmore is the Urban Forester for the City of Palo Alto. He led efforts to complete the City’s first Urban Forest Master Plan in 2015 and strives to sustain the legacy of Palo Alto’s trees through implementation of master plan goals. His professional career spans twenty years dedicated to trees: as a researcher for the US Forest Service; administrator for Mississippi state’s urban forestry program; first city forester for Dallas, Texas; and urban forester for Austin, Texas. 

 

 

More Ways to Celebrate Trees:

Plant your own tree!

Why is California Arbor Week in March?” you ask, “Isn’t national Arbor Day in late April?”

Yes, it is! But in California’s warm Mediterranean climate, prime tree-planting time is in early spring, when rain is more likely and the weather is still cool. Newly planted trees need plenty of water and may have trouble getting established later in the season, when the hot, dry summer sets in. So Californians celebrate trees together while there’s still time to plant!

Ready to grab a shovel and plant your own tree? Check out these resources:

Read a tree book

Photograph your favorite tree

You don’t have to be a photography expert to take impressive tree photos. Check out these tips to help enhance your tree shutterbug skills:

Get creative with a tree craft

Take a tree walk

Canopy has a series of self-guided tree walk routes in Palo Alto, but you can get to know your neighborhood trees wherever you live!

Use a tool like Urban Tree Key or What Tree is that? and try to identify trees you don’t recognize.

Or send us a photo! We love a good Tree ID challenge.

However you choose to celebrate, we hope you have a tree-tastic week!

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