San Luis Obispo, Pacific Beach High School Nursury

Pacific Beach High School

**Updated (Read Below)**

Project Title: Pacific Beach High School Nursury

Description: When Lionel spotted the dying pines in front of Pacific Beach High School in the fall of 2008, he knew he’d found OCE’s next opportunity for combining education, native plant landscaping, and smart urban planting: OCE donated pots, soil and seeds to the school, instructing the students on the virtues of native plants.  Eventually the trees will be planted around the school to replace the pines, shade the parking lot, shade buildings in the hot months, and keep the watering budget intact.  Trees not planted on campus are offered to students who have a place to plant them or planted at other sites around the community.

OCE Work History:

Fall 2008 – Seeding

6.25.2009 – watering

10.1.2010 – Returned to school and donated 150 pots and acorns for science class to plant/maintain.

Project Status: planning planting

Updates:

6.25.2009 – We plan to move the trees temporarily to another nursury where they can be cared for properly while school is out. – Greg

Fall 2009 – With the beginning of the new school year OCE has returned to the school with high hopes–see below for more information on the educational program’s schedule below:

Pacific Beach High School Tree Issues and Propagation Lesson

10.1.2010 – Returned to school to donate 150 pots/acorns for science class to plant and tend.

San Luis Obispo, Serrano Circle Acorn Gathering

Serrano Circle

Project Title: Serrano Circle Acorn Gathering

Description: Every fall OCE gather’s acorns of every type.  Serrano Circle, an apartment complex off of Broad St., has become a regular haunt for Lionel and his cohorts during the season due to its excellent specimen of a coast live oak.  This magnificent tree drops hundreds of pounds of fat acorns in a good year, enough for the birds, squirrels, and the humans.  The acorns we’ve sprouted from this tree have been consistently hearty and well suited to surviving in the dry inland climate.  Although Lionel isn’t above stooping to pick acorns himself, he always appreciates the help of kids–low to the ground, sharp-eyed, and agile, youth are especially suited to the squirrel-like task of gathering acorns, and they have a good time at it too!  Check out upcoming events for our next visit to Serrano Circle.

OCE Work History:

2000-present – fall acorn gathering

Project Status: ongoing

Update:

none

San Luis Obispo, Laguna Lake Golf Course Tree Planting

Laguna Lake Golf Course

Project Title: Laguna Lake Golf Course Tree Planting

Description: To celebrate Earth Day in 2005, Lionel arranged a planting to take place at the Laguna Lake Golf Course.  Cal Poly students volunteered their labor to complete the project, and Lionel worked closely with the course manager to determine optimal planting locations.  Trees were located to aid as wind breaks and as barricades to errant golf balls, and so as not to interfere with game play.  The golf course also boasts a seasonal creek running through its middle.  Live oaks were planted along the boundry of the course, between the grass and the creek.

OCE Work History:

2005 – original planting

Project Status: Established

Updates:

6.28.2009 – I took my camara out on the course and spotted four deer browsing along the creek.  Tree count: 75 redwoods, 25 oaks.  I talked about the trees with several golfers and they conveyed their appreciation! – Greg

Santa Barbara, Summerland Beach Park Tree Donation

Ranger and Lionel

Project Title: Summerland Beach Park Tree Donation

Description: Lionel dropped off eight island oaks, indigenous to the nearby Catalina Islands, to be planted at this small park.

OCE Work History:

12.16.2008 – trees donated

Project Status: Unknown

Updates:

none

San Luis Obispo, Unity Church Oak Planting

Unity Church

Project Title: Unity Church Oak Planting

Description: Lionel has a long history with this building, beginning when he labored as an iron worker on its renovation from a grocery store into a church.  Later he served as a groundskeeper and was an active member of the congregation.  His legacy lives on though five oaks which he planted to grace the Johnson Ave. entrance to the parking lot.  The five valley oaks now stand over 10 feet tall.

OCE Work History:

1998 – original planting

Project Status: Established, Further Parking Lot Planting Planned

Updates:

none

San Luis Obispo, Bishop’s Peak/Teach Elementary School Tree Planting

Bishop's Peak/Teach Elementary School

Project Title: Bishop’s Peak/Teach Elementary School Landscaping

Description: OCE is currently collaborating with teachers, parents and students from the elementary school to enhance the grounds’ landscaping.  The project includes adding shade along a fence line around the school’s sports field, restoring a steep, denuded slope above north side of the school, planting deciduous trees next to classrooms to aid in warm season cooling and winter heating, and starting a small nursury with students to further education and awareness of native plants.

1.31.2009 – First phase of project undertaken, planting seven Catalina cherries and three live oaks to shade sports fields.

Current Status: monitoring site, planning future plantings, developing educational program

Updates:

6.29.2009 – We will begin working with the school this fall to continue plantings.

Morro Bay, San Jacinto/101 Intersection Landscaping

Project Title: San Jacinto/101 Intersection

Description: OCE grew and donated flora and helped plant the intersection near Del Mar Liquor and Deli in collaboration with Morro Bay Beautiful.  Of special interest, the Lemonade Berry (Rhus integrifolia) planted on the site were once used by the native Chumash people to mix a tasty brew much like lemonade.  The seeds of the plant were collected locally, at Morro Bay State Park.

Morro Bay, Morro Bay High School Nursury

Morro Bay High School Entrance

Project Title: Morro Bay High School Nursury

Description: OCE has grown between 500 and 1000 trees at Morro Bay High School’s Horticulture Unit with the help of students and teachers for the past ten years.  Students work with OCE to help to start, tend and repot plants as part of classwork or extracirricular activities, learning about native plant biology and ecology and good landscaping practices all along the way. The nursury also provides students with the unique opportunity to watch a small forest grow out of the pots.  Many of the seeds planted at the school are collected within city limits, even as close as interstate exit a block away.  Collecting seeds and growing them in at the school helps acclimate plants to the climate where they will eventually be permanently planted.

Morro Bay, Spencer’s Market Tree Planting

Project Title: Spencer’s Market

Description: OCE donated  island oaks to Spencer’s Market of Morro Bay for use as parking lot trees.  Over the past few years, the empty lot to the north of the market has been revitalized as a collaboration between the markets owners and the local community.  Volunteers helped install a swale which slows, spreads and sinks excess water from the market’s reverse osmosis dispensor.  The market plans to install the first liscensed grey water system in the city, reusing the wash-water from its produce department.  A recycling center now occupies a small corner of the lot.   OCE donated and helped plant many of the trees on site, including island and cork oaks, box elder, Monterey cypress and sycamore.

OCE’s Work History:

2005 - planting

6.13.2009 – tree count

Current Status: Established

Updates:

6.13.2009  – Two parking lot trees started as mere inch-high seedlings have established themselves and stand five feet tall.  The cypress along the northern edge have all survived and are well over six feet high.  A total of 27 trees were counted on the site.

Morro Bay, Morro Bay Power Plant Tree Planting

Project Title: Morro Bay Power Plant

Description: OCE contacted the power plant’s biologist early in 2009 and arranged to plant island oaks and Catalina cherry bushes where the power plant borders the Embarcadero. Acorns were collected from oaks around the Morro Bay Public Library two years prior, and cherry pits were gathered along Interstate 101 near Morro Road. The site hosted mature Monterrey pines, eucalyptus and myaporum, the latter two showed severe twig dieback due to disease and perhaps excessive nitrogen from roosting bird guano. In mid-February at about the middle of Morro Bay’s ‘rainy season‘ OCE worked with a group of 30 youth from the Grizzley Academy to plant 29 two year old Catalina cherry bushes and 31 island oaks. Finally, Morro Bay Beautiful returned to the site and mulched the trees.

OCE’s Work History:

2.22.2009 – initial planting

6.13.2009 – watering, tree count

Current Status: Monitoring

Updates:

6.13.2009 – Nearly four months after the original planting we returned to the site to water the trees deeply before the dry season. Happily, we found 56 of our 60 trees and bushes still alive, giving an optimistic 93% survival rate to the project so far. The mortalities were entirely Catalina cherries with too much solar exposure. – Greg

7.26.2009 – Stopped to water trees again, by hand. Found all previously counted trees surviving, and even some new growth! – Greg