Richmond neighbors nurture tree-planting effort

By Chris Treadway
Contra Costa Times
Posted:   06/06/2012 05:54:22 PM PDT
Updated:   06/06/2012 05:54:22 PM PDT

An effort by residents to plant more trees in the North and East neighborhoods of Richmond is branching out with plans to spread the "urban forest" to a wider area.
The grass-roots nonprofit group once known as the North and East Tree Team is now called Richmond Trees, which has a stated mission "to promote and grow the (city's) urban forest and green infrastructure through community planting, tree care, education and advocacy in order to improve the health and well-being of the diverse Richmond community."
The goal is in line with the city's 2009 Tree City USA designation by the National Arbor Day Foundation and meshes with a Maryland study (http://bit.ly/L164jH) cited by Richmond Councilman Tom Butt that concludes that neighborhoods with abundant, well-tended trees experience less crime.
To raise money and awareness, the volunteers of Richmond Trees are hosting showings of "Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai," the award-winning 2008 documentary about a female activist from Kenya whose work to reforest her country sparked wide-ranging social movements and earned her a Nobel Prize.
Richmond Trees will have separate showings of the film at a private home at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. A $20 donation is requested to help the group buy and plant trees in the city. Admission includes complimentary lemonade and a bag of popcorn.
Seating is limited to 30 people per showing. To RSVP and get the location, send an email to richmondtrees@yahoo.com and indicate which showing you would prefer and how many people will be attending.
For more details, call Teri at 510-843-8844 or Nancy at 510-253-3702.
Contact Chris Treadway at 510-262-2784 or ctreadway@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/christreadway. Stay up-to-date on West Contra Costa news at IBABuzz.com/westcounty.

Richmond neighbors nurture tree-planting effort

By Chris Treadway
Contra Costa Times
Posted:   06/06/2012 05:54:22 PM PDT
Updated:   06/06/2012 05:54:22 PM PDT

An effort by residents to plant more trees in the North and East neighborhoods of Richmond is branching out with plans to spread the "urban forest" to a wider area.
The grass-roots nonprofit group once known as the North and East Tree Team is now called Richmond Trees, which has a stated mission "to promote and grow the (city's) urban forest and green infrastructure through community planting, tree care, education and advocacy in order to improve the health and well-being of the diverse Richmond community."
The goal is in line with the city's 2009 Tree City USA designation by the National Arbor Day Foundation and meshes with a Maryland study (http://bit.ly/L164jH) cited by Richmond Councilman Tom Butt that concludes that neighborhoods with abundant, well-tended trees experience less crime.
To raise money and awareness, the volunteers of Richmond Trees are hosting showings of "Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai," the award-winning 2008 documentary about a female activist from Kenya whose work to reforest her country sparked wide-ranging social movements and earned her a Nobel Prize.
Richmond Trees will have separate showings of the film at a private home at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. A $20 donation is requested to help the group buy and plant trees in the city. Admission includes complimentary lemonade and a bag of popcorn.
Seating is limited to 30 people per showing. To RSVP and get the location, send an email to richmondtrees@yahoo.com and indicate which showing you would prefer and how many people will be attending.
For more details, call Teri at 510-843-8844 or Nancy at 510-253-3702.
Contact Chris Treadway at 510-262-2784 or ctreadway@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/christreadway. Stay up-to-date on West Contra Costa news at IBABuzz.com/westcounty.