Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Miss Fallbrook contestants Kayla Pratson, left, and Bianca Perez get tree planting instructions from Jim Lyle.
SOF leader Jackie Heyneman, second from left, welcomes loyal volunteers, the Kanewischer family, from left, Denny and dog, Ellie, Lori and Natalie, to the tree planting event.
Miss Fallbrook contestants Kristena Hill, left, and birthday girl Kimberly Krueger, help plant trees on S. Mission while contest organizer Patty Hornsveld, rear, gets ready to take their picture.
FALLBROOK – Save Our Forest (SOF), a division of the Fallbrook Land Conservancy, culminated the week of March 7 to 14 (when Californians celebrate National Arbor Day) with a big tree planting celebration. Using funds obtained through another California ReLeaf grant, SOF planted 17 new trees on South Mission Road and three at Fallbrook High School.
As in the past, SOF volunteers did the work with the help of contestants in the Miss Fallbrook and Miss Fallbrook Teen contest. The event took place early Saturday, March 12 and was completed in less than two hours. Days of preparation, which included auguring, getting supplies together, photographs, and tree prep, took place before the actual planting. Gary Beeler, Russ Heyneman, Ellie Ross, Jackie Heyneman, Diane McNutt, and Sue Thorne all played a role in bringing this together.
The total dollars brought to Fallbrook to purchase and plant trees in the last 15 years is an amazing $234,014. Well over 2,600 trees were provided with these grants that require trees be planted on public rights-of-way or public property. Community participation has always been the implementing force for this big project.
The commitment to the community to plant trees still looms large in the eyes of the SOF group. Contrary to statewide statistics of the sustainability of trees planted by such volunteer groups, the Fallbrook group scores in the 90th percentile. SOF depends on contributions to its Tree Maintenance Fund to provide professional pruning and care for the many trees that have reached maturity or for trees situated in areas difficult for volunteer access.
Unincorporated Fallbrook must rely on this to maintain its community forest. If readers are willing to help with their volunteer time, they can contact the Fallbrook Land Conservancy office, (760) 728-0889, and specify “work with Save Our Forest” or, mail their contributions, earmarked SOF, to the Fallbrook Land Conservancy, P. O. Box 2701, Fallbrook, Calif. 92088.
Reader Comments(0)