Updates

CityTrees Partners with local Rotary Clubs and Redwood City School District

June 1, 2021

On Saturday, May 22, CityTrees board members, members of local Rotary Clubs from San Carlos, Belmont, Peninsula Starlight, and Woodside/Portola Valley and the Redwood City School District planted 30 oak trees on the Clifford School campus. This project, funded in large part by the Rotary Clubs, replaced eucalyptus trees that had been removed due to fire danger.

CityTrees Board Plantings Winter 2021

February 16, 2021

CityTrees Board members have been busy working to get 2021 started off to a (masked and socially-distanced) bang!

On Saturday, January 30th, board members from the CityTrees team planted 10 trees on Veteran's Boulevard and 9 trees on Broadway near Sequoia High School.

On Friday, February 13th, the CityTrees team coordinated with Redwood City's Department of Public Works, the Redwood City School District and the principal of Roy Cloud school to plant 9 coast live oak trees acquired from the Stanford Tree House program on the Roy Cloud school campus. Planted to commemorate the Roy Cloud 8th Grade Graduating Class of 2020, these trees sit around the outdoor amphitheater near their school garden. Once the COVID-19 conditions allow to bring the class families together, the students will dedicate the trees and celebrate! The school community will take over care for these trees into the future.

The CityTrees team has missed working with its community volunteers for these plantings, and will return to inviting others to the plantings once the guidelines in San Mateo County permit.

The Great Tree Migration

December 11, 2020

This Fall, Stanford University filled their stands with 450+ trees for the football season, as a part of their Tree House program. With the home season now over, CityTrees is a grateful recipient of a portion of these stadium trees. Yesterday, we rented a truck and collected 100+ trees to be planted in Redwood City over the coming months. Thank you to Stanford University and Lowe's for recognizing the importance of growing our urban forests and supporting healthy communities!

CityTrees 2020 Newsletter

December 7, 2020

Though CityTrees planned many fun and "leafy" events to celebrate our 20th year bringing trees to the greater Redwood City area, the COVID-19 pandemic had us put many of our ideas on hold. This year saw us plant only 30 trees in the ground, but the Board of Directors kept busy by pruning 251 trees throughout the summer season. As we say goodbye to 2020, we are looking forward to start the year off with 100+ trees from Stanford University to plant in our local area in 2021.

Please check out our 2020 newsletter which celebrates our 20 year history, as well as detailing how the team furthered our mission in 2020, even while being unable to invite volunteers to community events. Please watch our website or your inbox for news on when we are able to begin planning volunteer events again.

CityTrees Reads for Stories from Your Community

August 12, 2020

CityTrees was pleased to be invited by the Redwood City Public Library to participate in their Stories from Your Community program. Four of our Board members were able to share a bit about their passion for trees and to read a story for local families to view and listen to during our on-going pandemic. To hear our Board members read, please pull up a comfy chair here.

CityTrees Awarded $42,000 Environmental Grant to Plant Trees, Fall 2019

August 8, 2019

CityTrees, has been awarded a $42,300 grant to plant and maintain 129 trees to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gases. The award is provided by Cal Fire’s Social Equity Grant Improvement Program and is distributed by California ReLeaf.

Fifty-eight trees will be planted on six high school campuses, in partnership with the Sequoia Union High School District, and 71 trees will be planted in a designated disadvantaged community (DAC) in partnership with Redwood City's Department of Public Works. CityTrees will also provide educational seminars describing the importance of tree care and maintenance. High school students will benefit from an annual seminar and side by side participation at planting and pruning events.

In addition to reducing greenhouse gases, this project is expected to reduce fossil fuel based energy use, reduce urban heat, and restore wildlife habitat.

CityTrees Board President, Simms Duncan says, “During their lives, these new trees will remove over 500 tons of greenhouse gases from the environment while transforming concrete landscapes and beautifying the city and surrounding communities. We invite all community members to come out and join our work.”

To volunteer at plantings on this project, please sign up at https://signup.com/go/ZTAZsZi.

CityTrees celebrates Arbor Week 2019 with a PG&E/California ReLeaf Planting

April 28, 2019

On Saturday, April 20th, CityTrees volunteers planted 29 Flowering Cherry and Eastern Redbud trees in the Radio Road and Canvasback Way areas of Redwood Shores. This event was made possible through a PG&E grant funded through California ReLeaf with the support of CalFire and the USDA Forest Service to celebrate Arbor Week 2019.

CityTrees thanks all 23 community volunteers who gave their morning, as well as the City of Redwood City Public Works department staff, who enabled us to complete this work quickly and effectively. Thanks go as well to City Council member Diana Reddy for helping us to open this successful event.

The Return of Native Tree Species to the Redwood Creek Area, Part II

January 21, 2019

On Saturday, January 12th, CityTrees, Grassroots Ecology and Kaiser Permanente volunteers planted 10 trees along Redwood Creek, near the Kaiser Permanente Redwood City site, at the intersection of Veterans and Main. This event was made possible through a partnership between Grassroots Ecology, Redwood City Parks and Recreation and CityTrees to restore native species to the area, and was funded by a grant from the Coastal Conservancy.

In October last year, 22 coast live oaks, valley oaks, buckeyes and big leaf maples were planted on the southern creek bank, after the removal of palm trees from the site. This time round, tree planting took place on the northern banks that border Main Street and Veterans Blvd.

The Return of Native Tree Species to the Redwood Creek Area

November 1, 2018

On Saturday, October 20th, CityTrees and Kaiser Permanente volunteers planted 22 trees along Redwood Creek, near the Kaiser Permanente Redwood City site, at the intersection of Veterans and Main. This event was made possible through a partnership between Grassroots Ecology, Redwood City Parks and Recreation and CityTrees to restore native species to the area, and was funded by a Grassroots Ecology grant from the Coastal Conservancy.

The palm trees that were previously on the site were removed by the City of Redwood City in September. Coast live oaks, valley oaks, buckeyes, and big leaf maples were planted to take their place. This event was coordinated by CityTrees' education lead Tom Cronin and is one part of a multi-stage effort to restore the creek area.

(Over) 48 Trees in 48 Hours

October 19, 2018

CityTrees has kept up with its pruning into the fall. In the past week, our education guru Tom Cronin led community service students at Everest Public High School in a pruning workshop, which included classroom work as well as outside practical work to tidy up 22 trees near campus. In addition, a team from our Board of Directors tackled the trees at the Port of Redwood City in a pruning session that left 28 trees tidied nicely. This brings our overall pruning total to over 3,200 trees in the course of CityTrees' existence.

Another Successful Summer Prune & Pub Season

September 2, 2018

It's a wrap! Our Summer 2018 Prune & Pub season has come to a close, but not before our committed local volunteers helped to prune 186 Redwood City trees (between May and August). Thank you to all those who came out to help keep our city streets looking good, and also to Redwood City's Public Works and Parks departments for dealing with all the tree material that got trimmed away.

CityTrees Celebrates Arbor Day at Sequoia High School

May 25, 2018

On Saturday, April 28, 2018, CityTrees celebrated Arbor Day at Sequoia High School with a well-attended planting and clearing event. With funding from PG&E via a California ReLeaf grant and in partnership with the Sequoia High School administration, Sequoia High School Alumni Association and the Davey Tree Expert Company, CityTrees volunteers planted 8 large trees on the grounds of Sequoia High School. Five more trees were planted by Redwood City's Public Works Department on the street nearby. Prior to the planting, the team also coordinated the removal of dead stumps from the grounds as well.

Redwood City's Mayor Ian Bain and Mark Camfield from Redwood City's Public Works Department opened the Arbor Day event by unveiling this year's Tree City U.S.A. recognition.

It was a successful event with great fun had by student and community volunteers alike. Please keep an eye out as these new trees grow taller along the fence line of the school property along El Camino and Broadway.

CityTrees in the News

May 21, 2018

Before our April 28th celebration of Arbor Day at Sequoia High School, CityTrees was featured in the San Mateo Daily Journal. It gives a good overview about what CityTrees is all about. If you are interested in volunteering with CityTrees, please register your interest on our website. We are in Prune & Pub mode now, but will start our planting events again in the Fall. We'd love to have you join us!

CityTrees to Celebrate Arbor Day at Sequoia High School, Saturday April 28th

March 30, 2018

In partnership with PG&E, Davey Tree Expert Company, the Sequoia High School Alumni Association and the Sequoia High School Administration, CityTrees will celebrate Arbor Day by planting 8 large trees on the historic Sequoia High School campus. Planting will take place on Saturday, April 28th 2018 from 9am-12 noon. This event will also include clean-up and stump removal in a segment of the campus. Additionally, the Redwood City Department of Public Works will be planting trees on the streets surrounding the high school.

Please come join us! No prior experience is required. To volunteer for this free and fun event, please sign up here.

Funding for this project has been provided by PG&E via California ReLeaf. The Davey Tree Expert Company is co-sponsoring the event and will provide expertise and equipment.

CityTrees in the News

March 18, 2018

CityTrees' recent work at the Redwood City PAL Community Center on Bay Road was featured in the February 2018 issue of Spectrum magazine.

CityTrees 2018 Tree Pruning Workshop

February 10, 2018

CityTrees and the Redwood City Public Works Department will be holding our annual Tree Pruning Workshop on Saturday, March 10, from 10AM to 1PM at the Redwood Shores Library, 399 Marine Parkway, Redwood City. This practical workshop will focus on what you can do as a volunteer with CityTrees to help train and maintain the trees around Redwood City.

To sign up for this workshop, please visit http://signup.com/go/rmedQRf. (A suggested donation of $15 is requested to help CityTrees maintain our on-going program of planting, maintenance and education/advocacy for our local urban canopy.)

2017 Fall Newsletter

January 11, 2018

2017 was a busy year for CityTrees. Teams of volunteers planted 150 trees to mark Redwood City's Sesquicentennial. In addition, CityTrees launched a Tree Heroes Student Program and a four-session class for teens on the value of trees in partnership with the Redwood City Public Library.

For more information, please check out our 2017 Annual Newsletter. If you are interested in supporting CityTrees in 2018, please see our Volunteer and Donate pages for more information.

Fall 2016 Newsletter / Year in Review

December 9, 2018

Learn about our large NFL supported planting, expanded pruning programs that touched nearly 300 trees this year, our the partnership with the San Mateo County Youth Services & much more from our current newsletter! View the newsletter here.

March 19th Pruning at Sequoia High School

April 7, 2016

We had a great time on March 19th pruning at Sequoia High School with 17 enthusiastic volunteers, including seven from the Sequoia High School Key Club. With their help, we pruned nearly 50 trees, which will help keep the trees in good condition for many years to come!