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Davisite Banner. Left side the bicycle obelisk at 3rd and University. Right side the trellis at the entrance to the Arboretum.

Category: Environment

  • Tree Davis to Observe National Arbor Day with City of Davis and Enterprise’s Bob Dunning

    2021 Bike Tour 1 (1)

    (From press release) Saturday, April 29, marks National Arbor Day, and Tree Davis will celebrate it by offering two, free events at 8 a.m.: a bicycle ride/tree tour and a celebration at Central Park with the City of Davis and journalist Bob Dunning. Mayor Will Arnold will also attend the event and read the City’s proclamation.

    Starting at 8 a.m., the fifth edition of the “Great Tree Search Bike Tour” will begin with coffee and donuts at the North Davis Pond parking lot, located at Anderson Road and F Street. At 8:30 a.m., Board President Greg McPherson will begin the six-mile tour with stops at several ecological restoration projects. In addition to visiting Great Trees, the tour will include outstanding examples of tree shaded streets and parking lots. Riders will learn about the past, present, and future of the Avenue of Trees along West Russell, then finish at noon at Central Park to join the ongoing celebration.

    At the same time, from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m., an Arbor Day Celebration will be taking place at Central Park. Tree Davis, City of Davis, UC Davis Arboretum, CAL FIRE, West Coast Arborists and other urban forestry champions will be available to chat with attendees about the importance of trees in the face of climate change. At noon, Bob Dunning will lead a discussion at the event about the history and impact of Davis’ trees, alongside city staff and other community leaders.

    Attendance for both events is free, though registration for the bicycle ride is necessary, at:  www.treedavis.org.

  • Author Fiekowsky Speaks About Choosing Not to Ride Off the Climate Cliff

    2023-04-12 Climate RestoraBy Scott Steward

    Davis, like the rest of humanity, is on course to ride off a climate change cliff. We will just do it on bikes.

    If you don't want that kind of future then come see the author of "Climate Restoration,” Peter Fiekowsky speak this Thursday at 7:00 pm (see details at end).

    Peter does not have all the answers, but he has taken on what needs to be taken on in his treatment of the scale and urgency to the problem of survival in the face of climate change. Peter's assumptive voice patronizes, but his book is an important contribution to where we need to go to reach "safe harbor."

    For a crib notes summary of the book you can read a review at Earth.org. The reviewer, Maria Mendez, holds back from what could really bother you about the author's interpretation of the elite pedigree behind the proposed solutions to draw down CO2. Fiekowsky spends no ink on the legacy of the slave enabled colonialist system that lives on in our extractive economy and remains a real danger to his own aspirations. 

    That said, Peter Fiekowsky is an ally in the forces of change that apply to climate action and provide for a just transition and benevolent community.  His privileged myopia need not get in our way of a better path toward the rapid evaluation of, if and how best to apply, geoengineering to reduce hundreds of gigatons of CO2 from the atmosphere by 2050.  I believe he would be open to constructive suggestions about how to include more voices in the benefits and origin stories of this work.

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  • Letter: Vote for Donna Neville

    I urge you to vote for Donna Neville on May 2 to fill the vacancy on the Davis City Council.  I am an advocate for the unhoused who has worked on homeless and low-income housing issues in Davis for many years, and I am impressed by her understanding of the causes of both chronic homelessness and temporary homelessness that results from an unforeseen crisis, such as a medical emergency, and. Her understanding has led her to propose specific, practical solutions. She understands that Davis can only deal with the issue by working to provide more housing for low-income workers and families.

    Her emphasis on updating the General Plan reflects an understanding of the need for our city to plan and to develop a shared vision of what we want our community to look like over the next decades. She also understands that the General Plan is an important part of dealing with our multifaceted housing crisis. 

    Donna also advocates for an Economic Development Plan where the city takes a proactive approach to determining how it will diversify our revenue and bring in the much-needed funding to take care of city infrastructure and continue to support city services. Her background in public finance will be invaluable in assisting in this economic development effort.

    As someone who taught Environmental Studies for many years, I know that Donna has a real grasp of the need for action to address climate change. She will depend on the best science and will consider how the costs of various actions needed to address climate change will be borne by different members of the community. Her willingness to listen to everyone in the room will be important in ensuring that the city's policy is accepted by people living in Davis.

    Finally, Donna's considerable professional experience as a government lawyer means that she has the knowledge and the experience to critically evaluating the information put before her.  As a city council member, she will clearly, fairly, and compassionately weigh the costs and benefits of varying actions before the council.

    Please vote for Donna Neville for city council.

    Helen Roland Cramer

  • Transforming N Street Park

    By Wyatt Garrett, Cecilia Walsh, Torin Dunnavant, and Emily Griswold

    VolunteersThis past weekend, Tree Davis and the Davis Manor Neighborhood Council co-hosted two volunteer work days at N Street Park, with over 75 community members coming out to get their hands dirty. Under expert guidance from Tree Davis, the group planted over 450 drought-tolerant, climate-ready plants throughout the park, including eight trees. In addition, staff and volunteers began the installation of a comprehensive drip irrigation system around the park, completed a natural log habitat feature and spread a fresh layer of mulch in the newly planted areas. All of this work is part of a larger, community-wide effort to transform N Street Park into a more engaging and inspiring public space.

    N Street Park was built in 1960, and last renovated in 1996. Up until 2022 the park was limited to a basic open turf area with a small, aging play structure tucked out of view from the street. Over the last few years, the Davis Manor Neighborhood Council successfully advocated for the park to be renovated in order to make it more safe, welcoming, playful, and sustainable. Starting in 2018, the neighborhood planning committee worked closely with Davis Manor resident and landscape architecture student Tucker McPhaul to engage neighbors in re-envisioning the park. They ultimately submitted a conceptual design proposal to the City of Davis that featured an updated play structure, conversion of most of the turf into climate-ready planting sites, inclusion of a dry creek bed, and the installation of a log habitat feature. Many of these preliminary concepts were incorporated into the final design.

    Parking-plan

    The N Street Park renovation project has proven to be a model of neighborhood advocacy and community engagement in park design and implementation. Initiated by the Davis Manor Neighborhood Council, the project has been made possible through collaboration with the City of Davis City Manager’s Office, Parks and Community Services Department, Public Works Department, numerous contractors, and Tree Davis.

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  • N Street Park Planting Party

    Tree-planting-party
    (From press release) Join Tree Davis and the Davis Manor Neighborhood Council at the newly renovated N Street Park March 18th and March 19th! Come help install new trees, flowers, and shrubs that will make our park and neighborhood more beautiful!

    Tree Davis is seeking volunteers to assist with planting, installing drip irrigation, and spreading mulch at this two day installation event. No previous experience is necessary. Sign up for a morning or afternoon volunteer shift and join us for a potluck lunch from 12-1 each day. There are limited volunteer slots so sign up early to secure your spot!

    For more information visit https://www.treedavis.org/volunteer or email us at info@treedavis.org

  • Regenerative agriculture and the role of UC Davis

    Ministries-for-the-futureBy Roberta Millstein

    Yesterday, I attended a wonderful event on the UC Davis campus.  The purpose of the event was to celebrate the new Environmental Humanities Designated Emphasis at UC Davis, and it brought together in conversation two renowned scholars, Donna Haraway (a Distinguished Professor Emerita in the History of Consciousness Department and Feminist Studies Department at UC Santa Cruz) and Kim Stanley Robinson (an award-winning science fiction author who lives in Davis; the title of the event, “Ministries for the Future,” is also the title of one of Robinson’s recent books).  It was a wide-ranging, fascinating conversation – so popular that it was literally standing room only – that I can’t begin to summarize here (but you can watch online). 

    Instead, I want to highlight two important and related points that Robinson made: one was about the purpose of the University of California and one was about regenerative agriculture.[1]

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  • Davis youth represents in the Global Day of Climate Action

    Climate-march

    (From press release) On Friday, youth in Davis walked out of school to make their voices heard! On this Global Day of Climate Action, during a time when hundreds of thousands of youth marched for climate justice Davis youth joined them. Youth from Davis Senior High School, UCD Davis as well as adult allies of Fridays For Future Davis and Davis community members joined together to demand climate action and the end to fossil financing.

    Youth climate activists and organizers Eliot Larson, Mattias RowenBale and Desmond Beach led the march from E 14th & B Street down to Central Park where youth participated in a die-in. Youth between the ages of 13 and 25 years old staged a ‘death from climate change’ as a visual example of what will happen if our leaders continue down a path of inaction. 

    Die-in

    After the die-in youth were invited to speak and share their thoughts, concerns and hopes with the Davis community. There were powerful speeches and heart wrenching calls for action demanding our world and local leaders take action today.

    We were then led in song by freshman at UCD, Sam Saxe-Taller who brought our voices together as one before we gathered for a round table discussion with Davis City Council members Gloria Partida and Bapu Vaitla. Ms. Partida and Mr. Vaitla were led by youth in productive and inclusive conversation  discussing proactive ways the community can come together to fight the climate crisis as well as listening to the concerns of youth in this uncertain time.

    Going forward, Fridays For Future Davis will continue to strike every Friday at the corner of 5th and B Street from nooin-1. Today was their 176th week of striking on Fridays.

    A huge thank you to the many organizations and adult allies who join Fridays For Future Davis to help make this Global Climate Strike possible in Davis. And congratulations to all of the youth who bravely stepped up to take action!

     

  • Free Tree Circus show at Davis Central Park, March 11th, 11:45am

    (From press release) You’ll never look at trees the same. Join Tree Davis and their friends from Tree Circus at 11:45am on California Arbor Day, Saturday, March 11 at Central Park to see the award-winning TreeCircus perform. The City of Davis has graciously agreed to sponsor the event at the park.

    Tree Circus members, Chad Brey – Two time North American Tree Climbing Champion, and TreeCircus arborist, Grayson Keating – TreeCircus naturalist and the first Naturalist at NC’s Gorges State Park. And, modern-day Johnny Appleseed, Tim Womick, is ringmaster.

    TreeCircus asks the question, “What do trees give us?“ And fast-paced hilarity and science collide to help audiences better understand the role trees play in our daily lives. Young and old alike delight in humorous TreeCircus antics. Trees are the oldest, hardest working members of most communities and shown to help urban residents live longer, happier, and healthier. “TREECIRCUS / TREESCIENCE / TREEFUN.”

    The Tree Circus show is a part of an all-day event sponsored by the Western Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture, starting with a tour and discussion at the State Capitol Arboretum, a bike ride across the causeway, and a tour of Davis Great Trees lead by Tree Davis Board President, Dr. Greg McPherson.

    Dr. McPherson will be leading another Davis Great Trees Bike Tour on April 29th. Those interested in participating can learn more on the Tree Davis website and social media channels.

  • Global Day of Climate Action: March 3

    Copy of 2023 03 GCS US - Instagram Post(5)(From press release) The global day of climate action is just one week away! We cannot wait to see everyone on Friday, March 3rd at E 14th and B Street at NOON! Our march will step off at 12:30 and we will march to Central Park for a demonstration and community discussion. 

    In one week, all of Davis is invited to join in this Global Climate Strike that will put pressure on our world leaders to end fossil finance. We need to make sure they know that tomorrow is too late to take action, they must act now. Fridays For Future Davis youth activists will be walking out of school with other youth around the world, and we need your support. We need you to join us in showing up and demanding action.

    Please visit our event page for all of the information on how Davis will be participating in this worldwide action for climate justice: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wlvIupioT0hwQwjsCRXwsEsAfW3w8o6buoFhllHF1EA/edit?usp=sharing

    Pre-Strike fun! On Tuesday, February 28th from 3-5 at the Central Park Solidarity Space we will be making signs for the Global Climate Strike on Friday. Please join us for some fun sign making time and to learn all about how you can help our Earth survive climate change.

  • Davis Responds to Climate Change

    Public Forum on CAAP Feb. 26

    Floods, droughts, wildfires, hurricanes….we all know that climate change is an existential threat, so what can we do?  The City of Davis declared a climate emergency and has drafted an updated Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) that has aroused public concerns.  Are these concerns valid?  What does CAAP include and how might it impact you personally?  And what actions and regulations is the state proposing that will impact CAAP as well as you personally?  Come hear Kerry Daane Loux explain it all and answer your questions Sunday February 26 at 11:15 at Davis United Methodist Church, 1620 Anderson Road.  Kerry is Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Davis and project manager for CAAP.

    The Final Draft CAAP document and other information is available at:

    https://www.cityofdavis.org/sustainability/2020-climate-action-and-adaptation-plan-caap

    Of special note, the Overview and Context for the CAAP on pages 11-12 are useful information in advance of our discussion.

    FINAL DRAFT 2020-2040 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP)  PDF

    Shared by Helen Roland Cramer