City Trees 2009

In 2007 Phi Theta Kappa and CityTrees, an urban forestry group, united in a joint effort with a simple mission: plant as many trees as possible in the Redwood City area. CityTrees has the full support of the Redwood City council and we plant trees on city land wherever there is space, most often in those patches of ground between the street and the sidewalk. We plant, prune, and maintain trees during the spring, summer, and fall. It is a very rewarding experience. There are always at least two of us present, and the plantings and prunings attract other students from Canada as well. Since we have started working with CityTrees, we have helped plant four hundred and twenty trees over the course of these past two years.
Following another planting experience with City Trees, Beta Zeta Nu Fall 2009 President Isaiah Roggow explained "My experience with CityTrees has raised my awareness and created in me a connection to the earth that I never before held. All my life I have heard it said that it is good to go ‘plant a tree,’ but to actually do that is a rewarding experience. Then to watch it grow and return to it a few years later to pull out the support stakes and prune the errant branches is a wonderful event for me. It really helped to raise my awareness of nature and of the verdant power of life. We as species are so destructive and prone to the taking of life. It helps me to know I am helping in a larger effort to give back to nature, to create and give life back and keep America beautiful, one tree at a time."
Here are a few pictures from our recent tree planting and pruning experience with City Trees.