with Ed Fletcher, CapRadio
The Sacramento Tree Foundation played a critical role helping the capital city earn the City of Trees moniker. Filling the shoes of longtime executive director Ray Tretheway is Jessica Sanders. Sanders will soon be moving to Sacramento from Washington, D.C., where she served as Director of Science and Policy at Casey Trees.
She recently spoke with CapRadio about what she hopes to achieve in her new role, including addressing issues of equity and climate change.
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CBS News
Urban lumber creates jobs and is good for the environment. Watch the segment to learn more.
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by Torin Dunnavant
As 2020 begins to set, we reflect upon the year. We are thankful for having gotten through 2020, and are very, very excited for things to come.
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Do you live, work, or play in Rancho Cordova? Take this brief survey to share your thoughts on how the city can best meet the needs of the community through its Urban Forest Program.
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by Joleane King, N Magazine
Learn more about our new executive director in this community profile from N Magazine!
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by Somini Sengupta, The New York Times
"The fires sweeping across millions of acres in California aren’t just incinerating trees and houses. They’re also filling the lungs of California’s children with smoke, with potentially grave effects over the course of their lives.
The effects are not evenly felt. While California as a whole has seen a steady uptick in smoke days in recent years, counties in the state’s Central Valley, which is already cursed with some of the most polluted air, were particularly hard hit by wildfire smoke this year."
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by Daniel Kim, The Sacramento Bee
"Natomas Oaks Park is renamed the Ray and Judy Tretheway Oak Preserve on Nov. 19, 2020, by the city of Sacramento as Ray Tretheway retires from his nearly 40-year involvement with the Sacramento Tree Foundation."
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by Debbie Arrington, Sacramento Digs Gardening
SacTree's longtime leader retires with virtual ribbon-cutting.
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by Stephanie Robinson
We have exciting news! After two years of succession planning in preparation for Ray Tretheway’s retirement, and a comprehensive search and interview process with many talented local and national candidates, we are very happy to announce that Jessica Sanders has accepted the position of executive director of the Sacramento Tree Foundation.
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with Julissa Ortiz, Good Day Sacramento
Our Acorn Harvesters collect around 10,000 acorns from native oaks every year for our Seed to Seedling program and our reforestation efforts.
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by Foon Rhee, Sacramento News & Review
Ray Tretheway retires after 30 years as executive director of the Sacramento Tree Foundation.
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by Rachel Patten
We are so excited to announce the winners of our first round of South Sacramento NeighborWoods mini- grants! We are putting cash in the hands of residents and community groups because we know that the people who live, work and play in South Sacramento are most knowledgeable about how to grow a full and healthy tree canopy in their community. It is an honor to work with and support these TREE-mendous grant recipients in their vision and leadership towards a greener, healthier South Sac.
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by Rob Turner, Sactown Magazine
"...the most controversial aspect of the project in recent months has been the plan to dig up part of Capitol Park for the private underground garage for the legislators... For those not familiar with the site, Capitol Park is essentially a living museum, filled with trees that possess cultural or historical significance—trees planted in the 1800s; trees gifted to the state by other nations; trees that were transplanted here from the battlefields of the Civil War. One tree, a coast redwood nicknamed the 'Moon Tree,' sprouted from seeds that orbited the moon during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971."
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"This December, Ray will retire as Executive Director at the Sacramento Tree Foundation after nearly four decades of service. Under his stewardship, the Foundation has planted over one million trees, giving Sacramento the well-earned title of the largest hand-planted urban forest in the world. Ray’s deep love for the area’s trees and his devotion to safeguarding their existence is the cornerstone of the Foundation’s legacy."
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by Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times
The state capital takes its tree-loving culture seriously, which makes it a good candidate for a fall color getaway.
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by Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times
There are "links between poor air quality and risk of contracting coronavirus... People of color are more likely to breathe polluted air due to decades of racist housing and environmental policies. In California and across the country, redlining practices excluded Black people and Latinos from neighborhoods considered 'desirable' and pushed them into housing near freeways, refineries and power plants."
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by Debbie Arrington, Sacramento Digs Gardening
"A strong beginning leads to a lifetime of success. That’s particularly true of trees."
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by Joleane King, N Magazine
"Public servant, organizer, tree planter and friend. A longtime South Natomas resident and community leader, Ray Tretheway will be retiring this year as Executive Director of the Sacramento Tree Foundation after co-founding the nationally known, award-winning organization in 1982."
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by Dixie Reid, Sacramento State News
Sac State's vast growth of trees, in addition to creating a beautiful campus setting, also provides significant environmental benefits and supports the University's commitment to sustainability.
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by Dan Vierra, Inside Sacramento
"September is transition time in gardens where there is lingering beauty and things to do. While still wearing sandals and shorts, give some thought and love to the garden before it’s too late."
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by Devin Lavelle, Pocket News
"We've all been dreaming of ways to make our homes more comfortable and planting some beautiful shade trees is a great way to do it -- all while cleaning our air and fighting climate change!"
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by Sammy Caiola, Capital Public Radio
"According to recent research out of Portland State University that maps heat by ZIP code, a lot of asphalt combined with few trees means temperatures in low-income communities can be 20 degrees higher than those of well-shaded neighborhoods." In urban areas, extreme heat takes more lives every year than all other weather events combined - this means that tree-lined streets can save lives.
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by Alejandra Borunda, National Geographic
Green spaces make people healthier and happier, but decades of systemic racism have left many people of color living in areas without access to nature.
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by Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott
Construction of the Capitol Annex Project threatens many historic, irreplaceable trees at Capitol Park.
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by Kat Kerlin, UC Davis
"Heat, health, and racial disparities build on and exacerbate each other." Sacramento, like many other cities, simply didn't build tree planting strips into the sidewalks and streets of lower income neighborhoods of color. Decades of neglecting to plant trees in places like South Sacramento has created communities who suffer the highest temperatures, the worst air pollution, and the most asthma. These planning decisions have terrible consequences in times when extreme heat waves, joblessness, and COVID-19 have already placed a disproportionate burden on disadvantaged communities.
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by Stephanie Robinson
With rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall in the last decade, many Sacramentans converted their lawns to water wise landscapes. While we fully support these lawn conversions, they can be stressful on your trees.
Mature trees are worth the effort to plan around and protect - our communities depend on the health, environmental, and economic benefits they provide. Once they are lost, it will take decades to replace them, but some initial planning could save your tree's life.
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by Kathy Morrison, Sacramento Digs Gardening
"Be good to your trees, and they'll continue to be good to you."
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Trees make our communities beautiful, but they do so much more than that. Learn more about the benefits of trees by watching this video.
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by Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times
"The climate crisis often hits people of color hardest, in the U.S. and around the world. It’s true in cities, where black, brown and low-income people experience hotter temperatures during deadly heat waves because their neighborhoods lack tree cover and parks, or because they’re near freeways or industrial facilities."
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with Ashley Williams, Good Day Sacramento
Ashley Williams from Good Day Sacramento visited Urban Wood Rescue to learn more about how we are saving trees from the landfill.
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The Sacramento Tree Foundation's Tree Hero Awards recognize the people, organizations, and trees that champion our urban forest and ensure a healthy, green legacy for future generations. Watch this video to find out who this year's winners are and to get inspired by all of the good work they do!
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by Randol White, CapRadio
"California’s triple-digit heat is back — and new research shows residents in the state’s most underserved neighborhoods suffer the most when the mercury rises."
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by Catherine Warmerdam, Sacramento Magazine
"The Sacramento Tree Foundation has come up with a novel way to manage wood waste from the urban forest. Through a program called Urban Wood Rescue, dead trees that normally would be chipped into mulch or sent to a landfill to decompose are turned into slabs of quality kiln-dried wood prized by artisans and do-it-yourselfers."
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by Hannah Wiley, The Sacramento Bee
"An underground visitor center would be built in front of the state Capitol... as part of the project that has a group of conservationists concerned it could affect about 100 historic trees in Capitol Park."
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by Stephanie Robinson
California's plans to renovate the East Annex of the Capitol could lead to the removal of dozens of unique and historic trees at Capitol Park. Learn how you can help.
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by Dale Kasler, The Sacramento Bee
"...The prolonged dry spell has been intensified by climate change. Hotter weather, combined with the lack of rain and snow, put additional stress on trees and plants."
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by Ellen Cochrane
The Sacramento Tree Foundation program engages with specific neighborhoods to grow the best urban forest for our region. It offers a tool kit for any neighborhood to begin a tree planting program.
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by Michael Finch II, The Sacramento Bee
Many Sacramento neighborhoods officially shaded red and "hazardous" on an official map after the Great Depression remain home to people who are more likely to frequent an emergency room for asthma. And they are less likely to have a hardy tree canopy overhead, exposing them to harsher conditions that can impact their health.
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by Carey L. Biron, Thomson Reuters Foundation
In the face of a warming planet and breakneck urbanization, U.S. policymakers are asking how best urban trees can be protected and utilized.
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by The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board
The energy commission will decide whether to allow builders to plug new housing into new solar farms operated by SMUD. It’s a practical option, and the commission should allow it.
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by Heather Janssen, CBS Sacramento
"Sacramento has long been known as the City of Trees, especially around Capitol Park, which houses hundreds of different kinds. As construction around the Capitol picks up, so do talks of losing dozens of nearby trees."
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by Bob Moffitt, CapRadio
"In the middle of downtown Sacramento there is a 40-acre bonanza of vegetation that showcases 215 varieties of plants, bushes and trees that are found in California... But what interests Kathy Sher most are about a dozen orange trees with the promise of dietary nourishment for the region’s needy … if only they could be harvested."
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by Janet Scherr, Boomer Sacramento Magazine
Volunteers play an important role in keeping Sacramento known as the City of Trees. Over 2,000 of them join in tree planting events each year, assist with outreach and education, and work in office support roles.
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by Meg Anderson, NPR
In 37 cities around the country, formerly redlined neighborhoods have about half as many trees on average today as the highest-rated predominantly white neighborhoods on those maps.
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as shown on KCRA
Our city is the largest hand-planted urban forest in the world, but many of those trees are reaching the end of their life. Fortunately, Sacramento’s trees are skipping the landfill and getting a second life thanks to the nonprofit Urban Wood Rescue.
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by Debbie Arrington, Sacramento News & Review
"Fall leaves are nature’s best mulch. In forests and woods, layers of leaves protect tree roots during cold months and replenish soil nutrients. This month, take a cue from nature: instead of raking away this resource, mulch your leaves."
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by Tim Arango, The New York Times
Shade in Los Angeles sits at the intersection of two crises: climate change and income inequality. City officials are rushing to deploy cover to hundreds of bus stops and plant 90,000 trees.
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by Scottie Andrew, CNN
Women who lived among lush greenery had a 41% lower death rate for kidney disease, 34% lower death rate for respiratory disease (trees' leaves trap air pollutants) and 13% lower death rate for cancer.
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by Chris Brack, Ashley Jameson Eriksmoen, & Rod Lamberts
"In municipalities around the world, the trees are chipped into mulch. Not just the leaves and skinny branches and bark, but the whole tree. It’s the least valuable, indeed least respectful, thing you can do with a tree." Urban Wood Rescue aims to rewrite this story.
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by Kat Kerlin, Science & Climate
Urban heat islands are areas with very few trees, very little shade and a built environment that soaks up heat and releases it into the air. Trees can help make cities more livable as temperatures rise under climate change. Their presence can cool a neighborhood by as much as 10 degrees.
In Sacramento as in many other metro areas, urban heat islands often coincide with the most impoverished neighborhoods.
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by Anita Clevenger, Inside Sacramento Magazine
"Too often, the places where [big trees once] grew remain empty or are filled with shrubs or small trees that will never provide the grandeur and shade of their predecessors. If you have such a spot, or another good location, now is the time to plant a new tree."
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by Leticia Ordaz, KCRA
Volunteers got together Sunday for the Arden Park neighborhood's 19th annual tree planting day.
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by The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board
"The City Council has a duty to give residents their best shot at a healthy life. It can do this by prioritizing new tree planting and ongoing tree care for neighborhoods with less canopy."
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by Michael Finch II, The Sacramento Bee
"Trees cover nearly 20 percent of the city’s 100 square miles. In Land Park, for example, the canopy covers 43 percent — more than double the city-wide average. Now compare that with the 12 percent tree canopy coverage found in Meadowview in south Sacramento... Evidence has been mounting for years about the underlying benefits a hearty canopy affords to individual health."
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by Damian Carrington, The Guardian
Planting and protecting trees is a necessity in the fight against climate change, yet only 2% of global emissions efforts fund these types of natural climate solutions.
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by Ryan Lillis, The Sacramento Bee
We are partnering with The Sacramento Bee to ensure the long-term health of our tree canopy. Through the end of October, all donors and volunteers are eligible for The Bee's best subscription deal ever —the first three months of a new digital subscription are FREE.
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by Michael Finch II, The Sacramento Bee
Is the polyphagous shothole borer a threat to Sacramento's trees?
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by Michael Finch II, The Sacramento Bee
Sacramento's trees are under the threat of climate change and disease.
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by Ray Tretheway, Special to The Sacramento Bee
We must plant more trees and protect mature ones to ensure health and safety for all Sacramentans.
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by Meg Anderson, Nora Eckert, & Sean McMinn, NPR
Planting trees can combat the effects of the urban heat island and climate change.
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by Meg Anderson & Sean McMinn, NPR
Low-income urban areas are often hotter than wealthier ones.
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by Damian Carrington, The Guardian
Planting billions of trees across the world is by far the biggest and cheapest way to tackle the climate crisis, according to scientists.
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from our friends at BeWaterSmart
Now’s the time to get your trees ready for summer, before it gets hot and trees become thirsty. Find tips for watering your trees the right way.
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by Sam Block, Places Journal
It’s a civic resource, an index of inequality, and a requirement for public health. Shade should be a mandate for urban designers.
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by Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks, Sacramento Bee
Like many aspects of California’s modern history, oranges have their roots in the Gold Rush – or rather, in its aftermath.
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We are so proud to be a part of the urban lumber movement.
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by Robert Schaulis, Comstock's Magazine
Sacramento Tree Foundation’s Urban Wood Rescue program gives new life to urban lumber.
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Good Day Sacramento
We had a great time planting trees at Florin Elementary with Congressmember Ami Bera, Soil Born Farms, Florin Road Partnership, and the Sacramento Kings Community Impact Team!
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by Mary Lynne Vellinga, Office of Mayor Steinberg
We are proud to be a part of the partnership that will bring neighbors together in the River District for new public transit, homes, jobs, and trees through the Transformative Climate Communities program.
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by Randol White, Capital Public Radio
How did Sacramento come to be known as the City of Trees, and what's in store for our urban forest?
Find out in the first story in Capital Public Radio's new series, "Great Question!"
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by Marc Schultz, Work for Good
Ever wondered what it's like to have a career at the Tree Foundation?
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by Stephanie Robinson
What happens to our elms once they get Dutch elm disease?
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by Debbie Arrington, The Sacramento Bee
Drought or no drought, this year has been tough on trees.
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by Michael McGough, The Sacramento Bee
As seen in its trailer, Made in the Shadewill dive into the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and Sacramento Tree Foundation's jointSacramento Shade initiative, and how it helped build the city's green canopy by offering free trees to SMUD customers.
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by Curtis Yee, Sactown Magazine
As April showers turn the region green, a new locally produced documentary, Made in the Shade, is shedding light on how Sacramentans fought to turn the city’s open spaces into a lush tree canopy that now serves as a natural air conditioner and a significant source of civic pride.
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In partnership with the Center for Land Based Learning, this year SacTree is hosting four educational volunteer events for students participating in the Student and Landowners Education and Watershed Stewardship program.
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Cottage Park is a hidden gem in the Arden-Arcade community. Hidden to outsiders, but not to residents of the area who come to out to enjoy the wonderful balance between natural features such as trees, shrubs, grass, and a meandering creek by the name of Strong Rancho Slough and built features like the community pool, playgrounds, pre-school, picnic tables and the charming pair of rustic bridges.
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This year we partnered with our friends at Solano Land Trust to complete a special acorn harvest outside of our normal service area to support the recovery of oak woodlands damaged during this year's wine country wildfires.
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Come this spring, Southside Park in downtown Sacramento will be awash in pink. Thanks to the generous support of donors, and to a partnership between the Sacramento Tree Foundation, the Sakuramento committee, Council Member Steve Hansen, and the City of Sacramento Parks and Recreation Department, 28 young flowering cherry trees were planted on October 28.
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Beautify your landscape and benefit the little critters in your neighborhood at the same time with these trees!
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Fire blight is having a big impact on our region's trees this year. Learn more about the symptoms and treatment of this potentially deadly disease.
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Our Urban Forest Assessment interns have been working hard this summer to collect important data from around the region. This data will help us understand and quantify the many benefits our urban forest provides.
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Sacramento Tree Foundation is awarded two grants by the CAL FIRE Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. One of these newly funded projects will correct the imbalance of tree canopy by empowering South Sacramento neighborhoods.
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California Arbor Week and National Arbor Day are upon us! Check out the holiday events happening throughout our region and create a celebration of your own.
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In the fall and winter, deciduous trees drop their leaves and are dormant through the cold months. But, if your tree is losing its leaves during the summertime, it’s likely a sign of stress.
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