To the Farmer's Market and beyond

We are getting better:  More volunteers; improving our message; engaging more people; and a new pitch: "TREES FOR KIDS!".  You should have seen us at the Farmer's Market last Saturday.  Introducing people to the Better World Shopping Guide, Ruses for War, Nonviolent Communication, Project Censored and Chico Tree Advocates.  Some volunteers and old classmates showed up to help spread the word.  A teacher asked me to come to his class to speak on the health of Chico's urban forest.  Things were going along really well, in spite of the windy conditions that were threatening to blow me over a time or two until, a woman showed up. With another sad story of many large trees just cut down, next to where she lived: East First Avenue and Downing Avenue.  (I guess the new owners of the old Congregational Church decided they had eight too many trees on the property.)  How sad.  Eight beautiful large trees, that shaded their building, their parking lot and Downing Avenue are gone.  I went in and introduced myself to the new minister, Gary Hamilton, to express my sadness at the loss of the eight great trees to the neighborhood and to offer him free trees from Chico Tree Advocates.  He was grateful.  We agreed to talk later.  I suggest if you are concerned about the future of Chico's urban forest that you contact that new minister and tell him that you are sad about the loss of the trees that used to grace his property.  We feel that they were a community asset that is lost.  So now, let's work together, to plant new saplings of large tree species to help build our urban forest canopy.  Let's encourage him,

to plant as many trees as possible near the sidewalk to shade our Avenues; Be like Chico.