From the City of Long Beach: The City of Long Beach has launched a fruit tree planting program as part of its sustainability efforts. Long Beach residents can now apply to have a fruit tree planted by City staff in their front yard for free. This Office of Sustainability program is made possible through grant funding from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) in partnership with the Air Resources Board California Climate Investments (ARB-CCI).
"Fruit trees are a great way to grow the urban forest and provide new sources of fresh produce to the community," said Mayor Robert Garcia. "This program will help us meet our climate goals, reduce air pollution, and provide more healthy fruit for residents."
Fruit tree applications are now open. Residents can apply online at http://www.longbeach.gov/sustainability/programs/tree-planting. An alternate format of the application can be requested by calling (562) 570-6396.
"We hope this gives more residents the opportunity to have a tree who want one," said Sustainability Coordinator, Larry Rich. "Planting in front yards gives us the opportunity to plant in areas that aren't able to have parkway trees and give those neighborhoods all the benefits the urban forest can provide: cleaner air, more shade, and in this case, food."
Residents can apply for one of six different fruit trees: lemon, lime, orange, pomegranate, peach, or avocado. One tree will be provided per eligible household while the program lasts. All residents are encouraged to apply, those not located in a priority neighborhood will be placed on a waitlist. Waitlist requests will be fulfilled as space is available in the planting schedule each month.
Applications will be prioritized based on CalEnviroScreen scores. CalEnviroScreen is a mapping tool that helps identify California communities that are most affected by many sources of pollution, and where people are often especially vulnerable to pollution's effects. CalEnviroScreen ranks communities based on data that are available from state and federal government sources.
This fruit planting program is a part of the I Dig Long Beach initiative, which recently received a significant funding boost—a $1.26 million grant from CAL FIRE that allowed the initiative to be extended to plant 10,000 new trees by 2022. Initially, the initiative was funded in 2012 for 6,000 trees by 2020 through a $671,200 grant from the Port of Long Beach. Funding for this California Climate Investments Grant Project has been provided by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund through CAL FIRE Urban and Community Forestry Program.
