Читать книгу The Trees of San Francisco онлайн

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Despite early successes creating tree-filled parks, San Franciscans left their streets bare for many more years. Look at any photograph of the city’s neighborhoods as recently as the 1960s, and the lack of trees will be striking. Things began to change in the late 1960s and 1970s when San Francisco (a center of the growing environmental movement) began city-sponsored street tree plantings in the neighborhoods. City arborists involved with the new program had to learn, through trial and (frequently) error, which trees would thrive in San Francisco’s unique climate and topography. Early tree-planting efforts focused on a very few trees (ficus, blackwood acacia, Myoporum, and others) selected for their rapid growth rates and tolerance of coastal conditions. Unfortunately, many of these fast-growing trees quickly developed into “green monsters” that buckled sidewalks, crowded narrow street setbacks, and (unforgivable in San Francisco) blocked views.

In 1981, things took a turn for the worse, as a municipal budget cut eliminated tree- planting programs in most of the neighborhoods. Tree-hugging residents responded by forming Friends of the Urban Forest, a volunteer-based nonprofit organization, to step into the breach and continue the greening of San Francisco. One of the country’s oldest urban forestry organizations, this group conducts weekly Saturday-morning programs where volunteers and residents collaborate to plant and care for street trees. In addition to the energy and enthusiasm of its volunteers, Friends of the Urban Forest offers growing expertise in recommending tree species appropriate for the city.