Category Archives: News

An ode to our native oaks

By Stephanie Robinson | October 11, 2021 | Sacramento Tree Foundation

Out of all the wonderful trees that make up our urban forest in Sacramento, native oaks hold a special place in our hearts. Ask any staff member what their favorite tree is, and chances are many will mention the valley oak. Native plants are trending, and for good reason – they are so important to our natural ecosystems. But native trees, and native oaks in particular, carry the biggest impact.

This Oaktober, we’re celebrating the oaks that are native to the Sacramento region – the valley oak (Quercus lobata), blue oak (Quercus douglasii), and interior live oak (Quercus wislizeni). These majestic trees provide more benefits than any other tree that grows locally. Thanks to donors and volunteers like you, every year we plant 3,200 native trees throughout the region, both in reforestation sites and at places like homes, parks, and schools.

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tall trees

“Stress Your Lawn, Save Your Trees,” Local Water Providers Urge

October 6, 2021

CITRUS HEIGHTS—Local water providers have launched a new campaign asking residents to reduce lawn watering while continuing to water trees.
The advertising, which appears on billboards throughout the Sacramento region, on the radio and online, is focused on educating the public that lawns can handle less water but that drought‐stressed trees can be lost forever.
“We know that reducing lawn watering is the fastest way to cutting overall water use during a drought and to achieving the 15 percent reduction requested by Gov. Newsom,” said Amy Talbot, Water Efficiency Program Manager for the Regional Water Authority (RWA), which represents 20 water providers serving 2 million people in the Sacramento region. “But, reductions shouldn’t come at the expense of trees—that’s a major lesson we learned during the last drought.”

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sunset

Sacramento’s top polluter is traffic. So why does the county’s climate plan create more?

By The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board | October 05, 2021 | The Sacramento Bee

While it remains to be seen what promises will be made — and likely broken — at the 26th annual UN Climate Change Conference in Scotland next month, you need not travel to Glasgow to see climate denialism in action. Sacramento County has that well in hand.

The latest version of the county’s Climate Action Plan, set to go before the Planning Commission and then the Board of Supervisors after public comment ends Friday, simply doesn’t live up to its name. Representatives of local environmental groups such as 350 Sacramento, the Environmental Council of Sacramento and the Citizens Climate Lobby of Sacramento say the long-awaited document falls far short of promises made more than 10 years ago.

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photo of sliced vegetables on wooden chopping board

Sacramentans of color are most interested in homegrown food but have few resources. These local gardeners want to change things.

By Manola Secaira | October 5, 2021 | CapRadio

There are plenty of reasons certain communities, often low-income communities and communities of color, might see bigger barriers in accessing fresh food, according to Brazelton. Many communities impacted by gentrification are forced to move out of their neighborhoods, some moving into smaller spaces where they have no space for gardening or in areas far from places where fresh food can be bought.

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A ‘thirsty’ atmosphere is propelling Northern California’s drought into the record books

By Paul Duginski | September 25, 2021 | Los Angeles Times

Increasing evaporative demand is escalating summertime drought severity in California and the West, according to climate researchers.

Evaporative demand is essentially the atmosphere’s “thirst.” It is calculated based on temperature, humidity, wind speed and solar radiation. It’s the sum of evaporation and transpiration from plants, and it’s driven by warmer global temperatures, which can be attributed to climate change.

The meteorological summer of 2021 in the contiguous United States, which runs from June through August, tied the extreme heat of the Dust Bowl summer in 1936.

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