Earth Systems Science, Inc.

Successful Fruit Tree Distribution at Wat Thai Los Angeles

Feb 02, 2004

It was a chilly and windy Saturday morning at Wat Thai Los Angeles, 31 Jan 2004. A hardy group of volunteers from Earth Systems Science, Inc. (ESSI) led by Saifon (Suttisan) Lee arrived to distribute free fruit trees provided through a neighborhood nutrition improvement program of TreePeople. They planned to be there from 9am-12 noon. For ESSI and the volunteers, it is all part of making a difference in the world, the community, and for other people by doing something good. In this case, it was ?“doing good?” for the health of the people and the environment by giving away free fruit trees. And by all accounts, they did very well. By 9:35am, all the trees were gone!

ESSI is a small educational non-profit specializing in outdoor environmental community-based education for urban families and sustainable communities. Collaborating with TreePeople enabled ESSI to bring 120 bare root fruit trees (apple, peach, nectarine, fig, plum, and apricot) to be given away free to the public. Wat Thai Los Angeles supported the effort by allowing the free distribution to take place at the temple. What better place to hold an event to do good for people and the environment. Other ESSI sponsors were: All Valley Service Center provided transportation for picking up the trees from TreePeople and delivering them to Wat Thai; Overnight Press printed the tags for the trees, The Printing Factory made the ESSI banner and display boards. ESSI encourages local businesses to say ?“Y.E.S.?” by supporting Youth, the Environment, and Sustainability. But local businesses can only afford to help out if ESSI program participants and recipients patronize our sponsors.

Planting these trees not only provides fresh fruit for good health. Additional benefits from planting trees are: 1) reducing air and water pollution, 2) increasing shade and reducing cooling bills, 3) raising property values, 4) improving neighborhood environmental quality. 5) supporting local wildlife habitat for birds, butterflies, and other insect pollinators, 6) enhanced quality of life for families.

About 60 families were able to get 1-3 free trees. Some people arrived as early as 7am to wait for a free tree. People came from Castaic, Rosemead, Downey, as well as the San Fernando Valley. Many couldn?’t believe the trees were free. ?“Are they really free? I thought you were selling them,?” was a comment from a man waiting in line. ?“You are doing a good thing,?” was a commonly echoed sentiment. ?“Why don?’t you have more trees??” asked some latecomers.

Here is a brief description from the TreePeople website about the fruit trees to Combat Hunger program. ?“The fruit Tree Program works in partnership with dozens of community groups to build food security by increasing the self-reliance of low-income communities, teaching horticultural skills while providing a free, nutritious resource. Bare root fruit trees, planted in the winter months, can bear fruit in the summer of the following year ?– some even within their first six months. They are cheap and easy to care for and can produce abundant food for up to 40 years. TreePeople purchases approximately 3,000 trees each year (apples, plums, peaches, apricots, figs and nectarines), then prunes and ?“bags?” them in partnership with volunteers from food banks and community centers, churches and synagogues that work in underserved areas of Los Angeles. TreePeople taps the existing structure of community organizations working to alleviate hunger and build food security in Los Angeles. In almost ten years, TreePeople has distributed over 50,000 trees that are producing literally tons of fruit each year in some of L.A.?’s most barren and blighted neighborhoods.?” On 28 Feb and 13 Mar, 10am-12:30pm, TreePeople also provides free fruit tree pruning workshops so people can care for the free fruit trees they got. Contact Steve at (818) 623-4865 to register.

Anyone who didn?’t get a free fruit tree and who lives in the USC-Exposition corridor can take heart. ESSI will be assisting in the Expo Neighbors Environmental Group free fruit tree distribution on 14 February 2004, from 9 am to 12 noon. The Expo Neighborhood is located a few blocks west of Crenshaw Blvd and Exposition Blvd in Los Angeles. Please visit their website www.neighborhoodlink.com/la/eneg or call Patrick at Overnight Press, (323) 731-0323.

Free shade trees (these are not fruit trees) are available to residents of the cities Los Angeles and Burbank. LA Department of Water and Power customers can call the Trees for a Green LA program 1-800-473-3652. If you live in Burbank, call (818) 957-8196.

A simple way to make planting a tree become a practical math lesson is to take a photo of your newly planted tree with a young child standing next to it. Each year, take an anniversary photo for your tree?’s birthday. Put all the photos side by side. Your child will gain a different perspective on time, age, height, growth---and begin to develop a sense of appreciation of the miracle of trees.

Nicole Fernandes came from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) to distribute materials about the Backyard Wildlife Habitat program and other educational materials. These materials are great supplements to any tree planting effort. They transform any family backyard into a family educational resource.

Special thanks to the ESSI volunteers who gave generously of their time to prune and prepare the fruit trees and distribute them: Kristine Adisakkitti, Ja Cherdchoowitayasil, Catareya Laosunthornsiri, Erika Rodriguez, Boat Udomsittikul. Thanks also to Steve Hofvendahl and Ned at TreePeople.

ESSI Free Fruit Tree Sponsors:
TreePeople (www.treepeople.org); Phone: (818) 753-4600; E-mail: info@treepeople.org

Wat Thai Los Angeles (www.watthaiusa.org), Phone: (818) 785-9552,

All Valley Service Center (Servicing Acura, Honda, Lexus, Toyota), Pat Haffey, (818) 886-3711

National Wildlife Federation/Western office (www.nwf.org/western), Nicole Fernandes, 1-800-862-5508

Overnight Press (2-color printing services), Patrick McCullough, (323) 731-0323

The Printing Factory (signs, banners, silk screening), Jim Hawkins (310) 293-2603