On Palm Sunday, March 28, in a David vs. Goliath face-off, a group of children and concerned citizens gathered in a Pacifica neighborhood for a book recycling and fundraising effort to save 11 century-old palm trees from being cut down by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). Kids4Change, a nonprofit children’s group that performs charitable services and funding, voted unanimously to make saving the palm trees their current cause. They rallied Sunday with other children and adults to raise awareness about the fate of the trees they love.
These Canary Island palms were planted in this urban forest circa 1906, more than 50 years before the city was incorporated. Stunning in appearance, with large fronds that drape majestically from the crown, the trees are threatened not by disease but by poor urban planning. Though the trees are only a third of the way through their estimated 300-year lifespan, Pacifica’s Parks, Beaches & Recreation Commission voted to allow PG&E to cut down the first three of these trees because the city does not have the money to move utility poles or underground the wires, which are at risk of becoming a safety hazard. The core issue is that the trees have grown close enough to PG&E’s high-voltage lines to present a fire and electrocution hazard.
Citizens argue that this was a foreseeable consequence of placing lines directly above the trees, which naturally have grown. PG&E is not willing to fund environmentally friendly solutions, such as redirecting lines, extending poles, or undergrounding wires. In the past 50 years, hundreds of trees have been removed from the rarefied tree-laden neighborhood of Vallemar. Many trees were sick or at the end of their lifespans. But the remaining healthy palms are at risk only because PG&E placed power lines directly in their line of growth, and the severe trimming required will kill them.
Concerned citizens and Kids4Change have joined with local nonprofit Vallemar Conservators, which has been working for decades to save and replace the lost grandeur of Vallemar's urban forest. This coalition is working to raise awareness of the situation in hopes of finding a solution other than tree removal.The kids and adults are collecting donations of books and money for the cause. The book sale is on April 17, in the same neighborhood, and all proceeds go to saving the trees. To learn more about the palm tree crisis, go to http://www.vallemarpalms.com. And to donate or learn more about Kids4Change, please visit http://www.kids4change.org. All money raised between now and April 17 goes to saving the palm trees.
Recycle your old books and help save trees! Kids 4 Change, a local charity composed primarily of children ages 5 to 8, is running a book drive and sale. Dust off those old books and drop them at 119 Berendos in Vallemar, Pacifica, between now and April 17. Books will be sold for $1 each on April 17 at 119 Berendos. Proceeds will go to save several 100-year-old heritage palm trees in Pacifica, and any remaining books will be donated to Pacifica School Volunteers, Pacifica Resource Center, and/or local schools.
Donations to help save the palm trees: http://www.kids4change/donations.php