On a beautiful sunny, blue-sky day, the Rotary Club of Alameda gave away a total of 81 fruit trees at the Alameda Spring Shindig on Saturday, April 19, at Alameda Point Gym and Field.
Rotary club members Josphine White, Frank Lopez, and Barbara Curtis, and prospective Rotarian Heather Cleveland, said the tree recipients were thrilled to receive the healthy apricot, cherry, persimmon, pineapple guava, apple, jujube, mulberry, and loquat trees. The recipients only had to promise to plant the tree, and it was theirs.
The spring celebration has been put on by the Alameda Recreation and Parks Department (ARPD) every year for the past four years. The theme this year was “Superhero.” Festivities included a petting zoo, bounce house, bug zone, crafts, community vendors, and much more. This event is an annual effort to celebrate Earth Day, which fell on Sunday, April 20.
Why does the Rotary Club of Alameda give away trees each year at the Spring Shindig? One of Rotary International’s areas of focus is protecting the environment. The Rotary Club of Alameda embraces this focus area by planting trees in Alameda Parks in partnership with ARPD and 100K Trees for Humanity, and by giving away fruit trees at the Spring Shindig each year to increase Alameda’s tree canopy.
When planted, the trees given away at the Rotary Club booth will help clean the air in Alameda and restore natural habitat for fauna, avian, and insects. More trees will also help provide the Alameda community with more shade, as well as increase carbon sequestration capacity. Trees have been shown to help our mental health and will help provide a cooler, healthier Alameda.
The Rotary Club of Alameda is committed to helping the City of Alameda exceed its Urban Forest Plan goal to increase our local tree canopy from 11.2% to 20% within 30 years. For more information about the Rotary Club of Alameda please email [email protected].
Joyce Mercado is an author and member of Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda (CASA). Her columns are collected at alamedapost.com/Joyce-Mercado. She can be reached at [email protected].
