North Hollywood : Volunteers Needed for Tree-Planting Project

Los Angeles will get a bit greener during the next several months as part of a citywide beautification effort that aims to plant 1,000 trees by next March.

Funded by a $250,000 grant from a 1992 park bond initiative, the “Trees for Our Streets” project will plant the trees on “quasi-public” property within neighborhoods throughout the city, said Peter Lassen, project manager for the Los Angeles Conservation Corps.

The project is a joint effort of the corps, the city’s Environmental Affairs Department, the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative and several community-based groups.

Lassen said that nearly 250 trees have already been planted. In the San Fernando Valley, three tree-plantings are scheduled in North Hollywood on Sept. 16 and Oct. 7 and 21. Plantings usually take place between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. and require four volunteers per tree, Lassen said.

“We won’t do it without the public’s participation,” he explained.

For Lassen, who estimates he has planted about 7,000 trees in his time with the corps, the satisfaction of beautifying a city is twofold: It is a chance to improve the city’s aesthetic qualities and a way to bring people together.

“There’s a real feeling of communities working together to really make our city a worthwhile place to live,” he said.

To volunteer for the “Trees for Our Streets” project, contact Lassen at (213) 526-1460.