Reflection on Urban Gardening and Forestry

Bassuk and Trowbridge address the urban ecological factors that affect urban trees. I cannot think of how many times I've seen poorly planted trees on a new development project or parking lot. I used to work for Friends of the Urban Forest in San Francisco, and I did street tree care. Improper planting and pruning resulted in numerous specimen deaths. Further, Friends of the Urban Forest went through many trial tree species to see what conditions would be ideal for their growth in San Francisco- a ecosystem that had very few trees before the Europeans arrived. Thus, many trees were limited by the clayey or sandy soils found in SF, as well as the cool temperatures and of course the neglect by the street scene.

Patel's article points out the importance of community gardening, and the countless positive socioeconomic affects a garden can provide. I fully agree, as my own experience in community gardens reflects the same sentiment.