01

Beyond the lack of trees, here are some of the criteria that go into our consideration:

• Width of the sidewalk

• Proximity to freeways, industrial sites, or any other environmental hazards

• Presence (or lack of) major above & below ground utility infrastructure

• Pedestrian & vehicular traffic

• Proximity or access to parks, schools, or other highly used public facilities

• Demand for trees by the community

04

When the sites are finalized, we get the concrete cut and removed. We bring in the auger (imagine a giant drill) if the soil is rocky or clay-like, and apply compost before or on planting day. One or two days before a Community Tree Planting event, a large pile of wood chip mulch is dropped near the meeting location. The mulch is used to cover the bare soil of the new basin after the tree is planted. Any leftover mulch is removed from the site by the end of the planting day.

07

We host a Community Planting Day on Saturday mornings twice a month, where we plant between 40 and 50 trees with the help of volunteers. Anyone can sign up to volunteer to plant trees with us!

We also plant trees during the week with the help of staff and our members of our Green Crew program (this is a urban forestry training program for underrepresented adults)

And we water every tree the day it’s planted.

02

We start our outreach at least 12 weeks before trees are planted by distributing door hangers and mailing postcards to adjacent addresses. We also host Community Meetings that anyone can attend to gather more information about the upcoming neighborhood planting. These Community Meetings are held in a public venue and are accessible via Zoom

05

We plant drought-resistant trees and select the species to best fit the microclimate and other site-specific factors where they are planted. Learn more about tree species suitable for planting in different San Francisco neighborhoods on our Street Tree Directory page

Residents can also participate in the selection process from a list of options. Fill out the Tree Interest Form and let our planting team know you are interested in selecting the species.

03

We note site conditions — overhead wires, street lights, stop signs, underground utilities, etc. We pick potential planting sites that comply with the SF tree planting code and mark a 24 sq ft outline. Utility companies will mark the locations of their underground facilities. If any of them are too close to the planting spot, we will not plant the tree.

06

We host a Community Planting Day on Saturday mornings twice a month, where we plant between 40 and 50 trees with the help of volunteers. Everyone is invited to participate, regardless of tree planting experience!

We also plant trees during the week with the help of staff and members of our Green Crew program.

And we water every tree the day it’s planted