It is a rainy November Saturday at about 9 a.m. While most of San Francisco is home sleeping, about 60 central Sunset residents are gathered on 21st Avenue ready to plant forty-three trees in front of homes in the area. Friends of the Urban Forest, or FUF, is a non-profit organization that is responsible for the planting of one thousand trees in San Francisco each year–making the organization the forerunner in the promotion of a healthier urban ecosystem since the first planting took place in Noe Valley in 1981. “The biggest thing I think about FUF compared to some of the organizations in the city is that we really are community based. The kids come out, the dogs come out, and you learn a new skill. I don’t think there’s another organization like it,” says planting manager Naomi LeBeau, a FUF volunteer for the past two years. Residents from all over the city contact the organization to request that a tree be planted in front of their home. A minimum of twenty people must request trees from the same neighborhood before a planting is organized. In order to make this happen, one community member promotes the service. When an adequate number of requests have been placed, community members move forward with organizing the plantings, usually held on Saturdays. FUF makes trees more accessible to residents by removing sidewalk concrete, supplying planting materials, and providing the trees at a fraction of the amount that it would cost if residents were to contact all of the appropriate people and make all of the efforts themselves. Having a tree planted would normally cost a hefty $400 and a good amount of time spent learning and complying with the San Francisco Street Tree Planting Permitting Process, while planting a tree through FUF costs residents an affordable $75.
