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Farewell to More Ficus: Santa Monica Residents Asked for Feedback on Proposed 'Replacement Trees'
Photo of Angophora costata (Smooth Barked Apple) via Santa Monica Urban Forest via Flickr
One of Santa Monica's nicknames is "Tree City U.S.A." so it's no wonder trees are serious business there. While one pursuit is turn the seaside city into a giant, functional arboretum, currently the city is asking their residents to chime in about "replacement trees" designated for their residential streets as part of SaMo's Urban Forest Master Plan.
That Master Plan is concerned with the ongoing well-being of treelife in Santa Monica.
“Trees are a vital aspect of any street. Residents need to have a say in the choices that are being made for the future of their streets now,” said Judy Abdo, former Santa Monica Mayor and current Chair of the Urban Forest Master Plan Task Force in an emailed release.
Residents of Santa Monica are asked to take a look at a list of designated streets and corresponding trees and then they have until September 14th to give their feedback. Info on how to view the list and submit feedback is online.
In case you don't know your Chionanthus retusus from your Hymenosporum flavum, the list has links to images of the tree species posted to Flickr by the Santa Monica Urban Forest with the translations of their Latin names to the more familiar English ones. Not surprisingly, Ficus trees are on the "to replace" list; in recent years ficus trees in Santa Monica--namely their removal--have proven quite controversial.
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