The making of an urban forest
We were in a meeting in El Centro discussing the three tree grants from CalFire. Only the grant writer is tree knowledgeable. So a friend asked, why don’t we have an arborist in the Valley? An arborist is a professional who cultivates, manages and studies trees and woody shrubs. There should be an arborist out at IVC, he said. I piped up, because we don’t have any trees.
Well, locals would not agree that we don’t have ANY trees in the Valley. Yet, if you look around, wherever you are in the winter vegetable capital of the world, it’s unlikely you’ll be looking at a clump of trees. Maybe, you’ll see one. A holdout started by a seed dropped from a bird and watered by canal irrigation.
We just don’t see a lot of trees in the desert. I came here from Indiana where it rains a lot. There were large trees everywhere. I have only found a couple of places in Imperial Valley that can claim to have a lot of trees.
But there we were discussing plans for the beginning of urban forests originating in the five cities: El Centro, Calexico, Imperial, Brawley and Holtville. Each city has signed on to plant hundreds of trees to be proportionally distributed by population, poverty and air pollution. County areas will also be included as well as schools, parks and private property. In all, over 1,400 trees will be planted starting spring 2019. Will we sustain them?
El Centro will receive three CalFire grants which are a trickle down of the California state policy to reduce the amount of toxins in the air that result in the greenhouse effect and global warming. The purpose of planting thousands of trees is not beautification but carbon sequestration. Trees absorb carbon from the atmosphere and store it in their roots and in the soil. The supervising agencies reveal the goal of these urban forests. The grant programs originate with the California Air Resources Board and the Cal Environmental Protection Agency. These are agencies concerned with reducing air pollution. Pulling carbon, your auto emissions and fossil fuel contaminants, from the atmosphere will clean the air to a limited extent. This organic alternative, planting trees, is cheap compared to chemical technologies. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen.
California has been a world leader in reducing air pollution, and we have a lot to reduce with the number of vehicles on California roads. The state has been doing an exemplary job of seeking alternative forms of energy production through wind and solar, both of which are on display throughout the Valley. These installations replace energy from plants relying on polluting fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas.
When Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Terminator, wasn’t threatening Earth, he was the Governator hosting environmental forums. Gov. Jerry Brown has continued and enhanced this policy. The result is the Valley gets tree grants to help realize these policies.
In seeking local expertise about trees, I have met two people who exemplify the thesis of a new bestseller, “Palaces for the People.” “Palaces” makes the argument that libraries and public parks are critical to the welfare of the people, you and me. Trees make parks special. Not only do they produce lots of oxygen, trees provide shade, color and shape. Organic architecture.
Christian Lydick farms bamboo as well as small, medium and giant trees on the east side of El Centro. I am amazed at his tree propagation skills. He shrugs it off and says it’s luck. He also notes it’s great soil and inexpensive canal water. It’s soggy at his place. You can buy all sorts of trees from him at 625 E. Gillett Road off Bowker Road. The second person who probably counts trees in his sleep is Dr. Oli Bachie at UC Cooperative Extension in Holtville. His master’s degree is in forestry, and he plants trees to see which ones will work in our climate. He insists that trees make people happier in their community.
Saturday from 10 a.m., at Holt Park, Holtville, there is a health fair, farmers market and more. See www.holtville. ca.gov for details.