“Trees Are Simply Amazing. They clean air and water, slow climate change, ease poverty and hunger, prevent species loss, and feed the human soul. All we need to do is plant and care for them. Let’s work together to make it happen around the world.”

— National Arbor Day Foundation

As powerful as this message is, it only conveys a fraction of the benefits that we gain from a healthy tree canopy. For instance, did you know that a view of trees from a classroom window can increase attention by as much as 18 percent? A healthy tree canopy is also strongly correlated with public health. Check out the Sacramento Tree Foundation’s Green Prescription study at SacTree.com!

These incredible and innumerable benefits are why the City of Davis is proud to announce our 40th Anniversary as a TreeCityUSA! We are the second-longest standing city with this certification in California — only one year behind Sacramento. In fact, our first year with this certification was the year after The National Arbor Day Foundation created the program in 1976! We are proud of this honor and of the legacy of thriving tree-lined greenspaces that have historically supported our communities in the City of Davis!

In order to become a TreeCityUSA, a city must meet several criteria, including a tree board, a tree care ordinance and an Arbor Day celebration. The City of Davis has both an Urban Forestry Division and a Tree Commission. The City’s tree care ordinance is in Chapter 37 of the City of Davis Municipal Code

Please join us for our 40th anniversary Arbor Day celebration from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 17. We are going to throw quite the Arbor Day festival to celebrate our trees! If you have children or are young-at-heart yourself, this event is especially for you. We will be hosting The Tree Circus, an interactive performance including professional tree climbing for kids! The Free-Range Singers will also be entertaining us, followed by our own City of Davis poet laureate, Andy Jones, reciting tree poems. We will be awarding prizes to the winners of our kid’s Arbor Day Art Contest, and displaying all the entries. Finally, we will have our Mayoral Proclamation!

Surrounding the stage will be the bike-powered carousel, raising donations for our partner non-profit, Tree Davis, as well as numerous booths from tree-promoting organizations. We will have several on-going art activities, including face painting, paint-your-own tree-watering bucket, and make your own commemorative Arbor Day letterpress. The Yolo County Mobile Bike Library will be bringing us an array of tree-themed kids’ books to read aloud as well!

Thanks to our sponsors, including PG&E, West Davis Active Adult Community, West Coast Arborists, Starbucks, Ink Monkey, Nugget and Baskin-Robbins for helping to make this event possible!

We hope to see you there. Please contact the City of Davis Urban Forestry Division at CityTrees@CityofDavis.org or 757-5633 with any questions

Green Gardening Classes

Join the City of Davis Environmental Resources staff every Wednesday evening in April for a series of galactically incredible green gardening classes that promise to be out of this world! (or at the very least they will be entertaining and instructive).

April 4: Live long and compost: Redwood Building, 1001 Anderson Road.

A galactically amazing class on various composting methods.

April 11: Make it sow: Davis Senior Center Activity Room, 646 A Street

An engaging green gardening 101 class.

April 18: To plant establishment … and beyond! Davis Senior Center Activity Room, 646 A Street

A stellar class on water-wise landscaping and irrigation.

April 25: May the trees be with you: Redwood Building, 1001 Anderson Road

A class on tree care and irrigation.

Classes begin at 6:30 p.m. and run for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Davis residents who attend a class can enter to win prizes, including reusable shopping bags, waterless car wash kits and worm castings. For more information or to register, e-mail PWWeb@CityofDavis.org or call (530) 757-5686.

Other Upcoming Events

Compost and Mulch Giveaway Event: Saturday, April 14, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Faraday Ave. Compost and mulch will be available for free on a first-come first-served basis. This event is for Davis residents only, ID will be checked. Only one vehicle per household, return trips are not allowed. Please note that vehicles will NOT be permitted to back up directly to the piles for loading. Residents must bring their own shovels, gunny sacks, wheel barrows, etc. to move and load compost and mulch into their vehicles as none will be provided. See DavisRecycling.org for details.

Bulky Items Drop-off: Friday, April 13, from 4 to 7 p.m. and Saturday, April 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Davis Waste Removal (2727 Second St.). See DavisRecycling.org for details.

Arboretum Plant Sales: April 7, April 29 and May 12 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visit Arboretum.UCDavis.edu for more information.

— Julia Jones is the Urban Forest Supervisor for the City of Davis; this column is published monthly. Reach her at CityTrees@CityofDavis.org.

Crossposted from the Davis Enterprise

 Published online March 13, 2018
Printed March 14, 2018 edition page A5