November 12th was crisp and clear at 9AM when nine Benicia Tree Foundation volunteers assembled at the entrance to the Community Park service road for a Second Saturday Tree Care Day. They walked 10 minutes to the Lake Herman Open Space project site to check out how the trees survived the summer.
Steven Goetz, Benicia Tree Foundation board member, began with an orientation on the project and then demonstrated the maintenance tasks to perform at each tree site. Empty sites were planted with acorns, tree saplings were weeded, a 2′ square piece of weedblock was installed, and protective tree cages and tree stakes were repaired as needed. Even though we had over an inch of rain earlier in the week, the soil was still dry after picking it with a handhoe. Hand watering will be a new task this winter to give nature an assist.
By 11:30AM, volunteers had maintained 25 trees sites and started hiking back to the service road entrance to enjoy the rest of their Saturday. Pictures from this Second Saturday Tree Care Day are posted below.
About 100 tree sites in the Lake Herman Open Space still need to be maintained before the end of the year. Extra Tree Care Days have been scheduled for November and December at the Lake Herman Open Space. Click here to see the list of volunteer opportunities and, if you can join us, please register online.
