CANOPY BLOG

Canopy joins communities in celebrating trees for California Arbor Week

By Canopy Team on March 17, 2022

Volunteers join Mountain View Mayor Lucas Ramirez, Canopy staff, and city representatives in Eagle Park for the annual Arbor Day planting.

Each year, during the second week of March, Californians are encouraged to celebrate the trees in their communities by planting a tree, joining a community event, or teaching the next generation about these treasured resources.

Throughout the week of March 7-14, 2022, Canopy hosted several California Arbor Week events that offered community members the chance to engage with trees and learn more about their benefits.

Gunn High School students plant trees in Palo Alto

Gunn High School day of service

On Thursday, March 10, students from Gunn High School in Palo Alto volunteered for a day of service, with groups giving their time to plant trees in the morning and care for neighborhood trees in the afternoon. 36 volunteers tended 15 trees and planted five additional trees in south Palo Alto, including Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis), Edible Fig (Ficus carica), Frontier Elm (Ulmus ‘Frontier’), Water Gum (Tristaniopsis laurina), and Western Red Bud (Cercis occidentalis).

Fourth graders explore the magic of trees

Education Director Vanessa Wyns with Costaño Elementary School students

On Friday, March 11, Vanessa Wyns, Canopy’s education director, joined fourth grade students at Costaño Elementary School in East Palo Alto’s Ravenswood School District for Defense Against the Bark Arts, an interactive lesson about the various animals, bacteria, fungi, and pathogens that threaten trees’ survival and how trees defend themselves against attacks using both mechanical and chemical protections.

Canopy’s K-12 lessons align with the Common Core Principles and Next Generation Science Standards while engaging students through tree-themed S.T.E.M. activities.

Mountain View mayor plants trees with community

Mayor Lucas Ramirez

On the morning of Saturday, March 12, volunteers including National Honor Society students from Los Altos High School and cohort members of Canopy’s Community Forestry School joined Mountain View Mayor Lucas Ramirez, Canopy staff, and city representatives to plant and care for seven trees in Eagle Park. To commemorate the day, Mayor Ramirez read the city’s Arbor Day Proclamation and planted a ceremonial Valley oak, an annual tradition in partnership with Canopy.

The City of Mountain View employees joined Mayor Ramirez, including Vice Mayor Alison Hicks, Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga, and Forestry Coordinator Matthew Feisthamel. Kammy Lo, Canopy’s Board of Directors chair and Mountain View resident, also joined.

After the planting event, Canopy Community Forestry Coordinator Gabrielle Trudeau teamed up with Feisthamel to lead volunteers on a guided tour of the park’s trees.

Two children hold tree-themed activity sheets while on a guided tree walk.
Tree walks are fun for all ages. Pro Bono Photography

Canopy and Palo Alto Art Center co-host a community festival

On Saturday, March 12, Canopy and the Palo Alto Art Center hosted an outdoor festival celebrating California Arbor Week. Activities included tree walk tours guided by certified arborists, arts and crafts, and tree-themed trivia.

Artist Paz de la Calzada joined the event as a special guest, adding an artist’s perspective to the tree walks and leading a gallery tour of her art project, “El Palo Alto Medicine”, inspired by the oldest redwood tree in the area that gives the city of Palo Alto its name.

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