California ReLeaf Grant to Friends of Carmel Forest

 
Dead "Ghost" Monterey Cypress Tree
Location: Carmel Beach, North of Del Mar Avenue 

Friends of Carmel Forest, a nonprofit organization established in 1989, whose mission includes the “Environmental Beautification” of Carmel-by-the-Sea and, as the “officially-designated support group of the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea," assisting the city preserve the city’s Monterey Pine, Monterey Cypress and Coast Live Oak Trees, is a 2006 California ReLeaf grant recipient. The $2,310 grant will cover the costs of purchasing and planting Monterey Pine and Cypress Trees along the south side of Ocean Avenue between San Antonio and Camino Real and on the Carmel Beach, north of Del Mar Avenue, and maintaining the trees during the grant period.

California ReLeaf was founded in 1989 and incorporated as a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2004. Their mission is “To empower grassroots efforts and build strategic partnerships that preserve, protect, and enhance California’s urban and community forests.” To accomplish their mission, California ReLeaf administers a Tree-Planting Grant Program; the program is funded through a contract with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Since 1992, California ReLeaf has granted more than $2.2 million to community-based groups throughout the state.

For those interested, individuals can subscribe free to California Trees, California ReLeaf’s newsletter, which features news and commentary on urban forestry programs and concerns statewide. To join the California Trees mailing list, please email your name and mailing address to caltrees@californiareleaf.org.

Additionally, Friends of Carmel Forest, is a member of the California ReLeaf Network, a statewide alliance of approximately 80 community-based organizations that “share the common goals of planting and protecting trees, fostering an ethic of environmental stewardship, and promoting citizen involvement.”

As the planting of the Monterey Pines and Cypress Trees is scheduled for the month of October 2006, Friends of Carmel Forest are seeking volunteers to water the trees once a week once planted. For information, please call the President of Friends of Carmel Forest, Clayton Anderson, (831) 624-3208.