A tree grows in Laguna — city officials, dendrophiles plant velvet ash to mark Arbor Day

A thin-trunked velvet ash planted at Laguna Beach’s Bluebird Park Monday in honor of Arbor Day will someday grow tall and sturdy, hopefully standing for decades to come as a symbol of the beauty and beneficence of trees.

City officials and staff joined with locals in a fifth annual ceremony Monday that, in addition to a tree-planting, imparted advice about the care and planting of trees and introduced residents to local garden groups and tree advocates working in the community.

Kids from the Boys & Girls Club Bluebird Park branch lend a helping hand, and shovel, Monday during an Arbor Day celebration in Laguna Beach.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

“Trees not only add beauty to our city and build civic pride in our community, but they also serve as critical infrastructure,” Laguna Beach Mayor Sue Kempf said in opening remarks.

“Residents and visitors experience a high quality of life when these natural elements are brought to the urban setting,” she continued. “[And] tree-lined streets encourage more businesses to our storefronts, provide traffic calming properties and enhance building design and curb appeal.”

Kempf read portions of a citywide proclamation highlighting the history of Arbor Day, first observed in Nebraska in 1874 as a way of recognizing the importance of trees in society. Today, she said, all 50 states and 32 countries celebrate the occasion.

“Yay! We love our trees,” a child in the audience called out as Kempf declared March 7, 2022, Arbor Day.

Guests discuss the art of tree planting Monday on Arbor Day at Bluebird Park in Laguna Beach.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

City arborist Matthew Barker recounted how, as a boy, he would spend hours gathering up the tiny, blade-shaped seeds of the velvet ash tree that grew at his grandmother’s house and throwing them from a balcony to watch them spin like little helicopters as they fell to the ground.

“It was a very joyful moment,” he said. “I hope that one day, in the future, kids [here] get to have the same joy I did.”

For four years, Laguna Beach has worn the mantle of “Tree City USA,” a title bestowed by the national Arbor Day Foundation upon communities that support tree preservation, in part, by maintaining a tree ordinance and hosting an annual Arbor Day celebration.

A visitor at Laguna Beach’s Bluebird Park Monday admires a fig tree sprout, part of a tree giveaway held during the city’s fifth annual Arbor Day celebration.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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