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Goleta Valley Beautiful E-Mail News -April 2007



33rd Annual Awards Banqueton May 19 - Member invitations to be mailed in mid April

    GVB Volunteer Opportunities-GVB Office and message phone number 685-7910
  1. SaturdayMorning Tree Plantings 9 am to noon
  2. March31 Spring Break-No Project
  3. April 7Estero Park Tree Planting, Isla Vista. UCSB Environmental Affairs Board Project
  4. April 14Dos Pueblos HighSchool, 7266 AlamedaDr. H/A Patio Project
  5. April21 El Camino Elementary School, 5020 San Simeon Drive. American Lung Assoc. and The Gas Co. are co-sponsoring 'Sneezeless Tree' plantings. Registeredvolunteers eligible for a pizza lunch. Families welcome
  6. April 28San Marcos High School, 4750 Hollister Ave. Meet north of tennis courts.
  7. May 5Dos Pueblos HighSchool, 7266 AlamedaDr. Campus location to be announced
  8. May 12San Marcos High School, 4750 Hollister Ave. Campus location to be announced
  9. April 20 Glen Annie Open Space maintenance, NW corner of Del Norte and Glen Annie, 3:30 -5:30PM
  10. April 22 Tu B'Shvat/Earth Day Tree Planting Celebration at Queen Ann Open Space - call 685-7910 for info
  11. Wednesday morning Tree Care events, April 11, 18, 25, 9 to noon - call685-7910 for locations
  12. Devereux Greenhouse/Growing Groundsyoung tree care - Mon & Fri9 am to Noon- Call 685-7910
  13. Litter pickup2nd and 4thSat.-Call Don and Judy Nason 964-4895
  14. Graffiti removal and reporting - Call Ed Graper 964-7117,
  15. Monthly Goleta Valley Beautiful award nominations - Call Bonnie Freeman 683-1878 or Phebe Mansur 685-2277
  16. Additional GVB ongoing indoor/outdoor volunteer community service activities, call 685-7910


GVB volunteers celebrate Marchwith 76 new trees March had terrific planting weather, starting with Foothill School where on March 3 Principal Ed Armstrong led 68 volunteers in planting 34 treesusing 200 community service hours. Notice the young children learninghow to avoid girdling roots.Thirty two volunteers celebrated Saint Patrick's Day by planting 3 trees and laying 1000 of irrigation line using 83 volunteer hours. And on March 24, 13 La Patera family members joined Principal Patty Santiago in planting 10treesaround the new classrooms using 37 volunteer hours.Now for some late seasonrain!
To sign up for a volunteer activity, send an e-mailScottor leave a message at 685-7910.
-Also Click here to see the calendar

GVB releases first inventory ofmanaged trees in Goleta City Parks


Several years in the making, GVBtransmitted to Goleta City Manager Dan Singer the first individual assessment of management needs for 3,128 park trees within 20 City of Goleta Park and open spaces. Park trees are usually not maintained to the same level as street trees due to funding constraints. However the safety of the public and the health of the trees could benefit from more systematic tree management that in the long run may be more cost effective than management by pending hazard.
The survey also indicated 618 potential new tree sites on the peripheries of the parks. These locations were chosen to allow maximum use of interior open park space while providing shade and substantial environmental benefits.
This report is a gift from Goleta Valley Beautiful members to the City of Goleta to help staff improve their role as stewards of our public park trees.

    Upcoming Goleta Valley Beautiful Events- call 685-7910 for information/reservations


  1. May 19 - 33rd Annual Awards Banquet & Silent Auction. Invitations to our annual celebration will be in the mail beginning in mid-April.
  2. June 24- 6th Annual Goleta Valley Heritage Tree Tour - One bus + one professor + specimen trees in places you rarely see.
  3. July 4 - Goleta Fireworks Raffle - Although this is a Rotary event, GVB is also selling raffle tickets as a joint fundraiser.
  4. July 14 - The firstannual GVB Garden Tour and Bazaar - 6 beautiful tour sites


California Arbor Day Event at Dos Pueblos Attracts 143 Volunteers


We thought we would have to turn people away at 100, but the Suburban Kiwanis served most of our 143 volunteers with a delicious Tri-Tip and Chicken lunch, topped off by cookies from the Native Daughters of the Golden West, and cake from Beautify Dos Pueblos. It was a fitting end to a day ofplanting 27 trees, completing landscaping of the H Quad, and Arbor Dayproclamations by local elected officials and their representatives. The 476 volunteer hours was a high for the year

GVBApril ResidentialAwardWinner-

944 N. Patterson Avenue, 93111, Jim and VeLoyce Schmidt,
The April award goes to 944 N. PattersonAvenue in unincorporatedGoleta Valley. Homeowners Jim andVeLoyce Schmidt enrolled the help of son-in-law Peter new, a Cal-Poly graduate inLandscape Architecture, to give a timeless update to their landscape. That was 15 years ago and the same low maintenance plants thrive today. New Zealand 'purpurea' flax, three queen palms and a lavender star flower, Grewia occidentalis, make up the bones while blue festuca ovina glauca and Dymondia margaretae play against the beautiful flagstone pathway. A family installed project.

Water Kings and Queens,get out your hoses


Its been a relatively dry winter, so its time to startdeep wateringyour young trees twice a month, using your Treegator if you have it.Keep up on the weeding around your tree and add up to 3-4 inches of mulch except by the root crown within 4 " of the trunk. Call us at 685-7910if you need help, additional mulch,or if you are unable to install your Treegator.

Sister Witness Tree Needs Protection Before Planned San Jose Creek Project


We all know that the San Jose Creek Flood Control project is crucial to alleviating the flooding in Old Town Goleta. We at Goleta Valley Beautiful also think that early intervention will help protect the Sister Witness Tree from any negative impacts from the project. The Sister Witness Tree is a California Sycamore that we estimate is over 250 years old that sits on the west bank of San Jose Creek about 120' north of Hollister. It isa 'relative' of the Witness Tree several hundred yards away across Hollister in the middle of the Sizzler Restaurant.City Council will hear comments on the draft Environmental Assessment for the San Jose Creek Project on Monday evening at City Council chambers, 130 Cremona , beginning at 6:00 PM. Let your voice be heard.

    MoreApril 2007GVB accomplishments/Kudos


  1. Work Training Program crewsplanted 2 trees on the Kellogg campus and assisted in relocating 8 Honor Tree plaques at Girsh park to temporary locations.We're working with Girsh Park officials to improve tree conditions there.
  2. Carpinteria Beautiful received another shipment of 10 Portola Sycamore clones grown at our Devereux nursery, which they planted in Carpinteria as part of their Arbor Day ceremonies.
  3. The Nason Litter Crewspent 21 hours collecting 12 bags of roadside litter, including an increase of Nyquil bottles. Hmmm.
  4. Although UCSB has bought the Devereux campus, Devereux will remain.GVB activities with the clients at the Greenhouse are increasing, with volunteers Stacia and Adran contributing 24 service hours in March.
  5. 27 members of the GVB Advisory Council and GVB Board of Directors met at the Edison Conference Room on 3/21. This is an annual review to map out strategies for what will and won't be in futurework plans for GVB.
  6. GVB Board members Phebe Mansur and Zea Bauer led Science Night activities at Brandon School, while Zea's husband Joe lent his considerable skills in Excel spreadsheets toa GVBresearch project projecting the long term benefits of costs of Goleta trees.

Whew, busy month. Time for a short vacation-no fooling.

Citizen Pruners - Sharpen Your Snips, We need you.


For those of you recently trained at our February workshop, we have young tree care pruning projects all over the Goleta Valley to deal with frost damage, raising crowns to allow for ground maintenance, and formative pruning. Flexible hours. Call 685-7910 for assignments.

Your comments to kennethknight@cox.netkennethknight@cox.netwill help us build a better communications link.

Goleta Valley Beautiful News -May 2007



33rd Annual Awards Banqueton May 19 - RSVP by May 10

    GVB Volunteer Opportunities-GVB Office and message phone number 685-7910
  1. SaturdayMorning Tree Plantings/Tree Care - 9 am to noon
  2. May 5 -Dos Pueblos HighSchool, 7266 AlamedaDr.Cathedral Oaks & Tennis Courts
  3. May 12- San Marcos High School, 4750 Hollister Ave. Entrance to Hollister Parking Lot
  4. May 19 - Ellwood School, 7686 Hollister Ave. Meet in parking lot.
  5. May 26-Memorial Day Weekend - No Project
  6. June 2 - Isla Vista School, 6875 El Collegio Rd. Meet in parking lot
  7. Thursday May 24, 5:30 pm- 7 pm. Science Night at Isla Vista Elementary. Call 685-=7910 to assist.
  8. Wednesday morning Tree Care events, April 11, 18, 25, 9 to noon - call685-7910 for locations
  9. Devereux Greenhouse/Growing Groundsyoung tree care - Mon & Fri9 am to Noon- Call 685-7910
  10. Litter pickup2nd and 4thSat.-Call Don and Judy Nason 964-4895
  11. Graffiti removal and reporting - Call Ed Graper 964-7117, edgraper@yahoo.com
  12. Monthly Goleta Valley Beautiful award nominations - Call Bonnie Freeman 683-1878 or Phebe Mansur 685-2277
  13. Citizen Pruners - Saturday AM young tree care projectsin conjunction withplanting projects. Call 685-7919
  14. 2 Student representative seats on the GVB Board of Directors beginning September 2007. Call 685-7910
  15. Additional GVB ongoing indoor/outdoor volunteer community service activities, call 685-7910


33rd Annual Award Winners Announced


The 33rd Annual Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday May 19 at the Goleta Holiday Inn from 6 to 9 pm. Larry Crandell returns as our master of Ceremonies. Prior to the awards we'll have a Silent Auction to benefit GVB. Local sponsors have provided a surprisingly wide variety of products and services that you use every day, including restaurants, lodging, theme parks, theater, movies, and a whole lot more. Please see our web site for a full listing of sponsors and awardees, including our Evergreen Volunteers and our Citizen Pruners.
In case you haven't received the invitation in the mail, we'll be sending aPDFof the invitation to our e-mail list, and you can also access it on our website www.goletavalleybeautiful.org.
    The winners in our 12 main categories include;
  1. Single Family Residence -7910 Rio Vista, Multi-Family
  2. Residential/Apartments - 360 Ellwood Reach Drive
  3. SustainablDevelopment 481 Via El Cuardro
  4. Homeowners Association Common Area - Brookside-7386 Calle Real
  5. Business/Office - Occam -77 Robin Hill Road
  6. Preservation of Goleta Valley Heritage - Timbers - 10 Winchester Canyon Road
  7. Public/Institutional - UCSB Engineering Science Building
  8. Business/Retail - Santa Barbara Humane Society Education Center 5399 Overpass Road
  9. Public Open Space- North Kellogg Open Space Project
  10. Firescape Design - 962 North Patterson Avenue
  11. Commercial Orchard - Bottiani Family Orchard
  12. Open Category - The Specimen Trees of Bishop Ranch


47 New Trees Planted During April


April was another busy tree planting month. 45 UCSB Environmental Affairs Board members planted 15Catalina Ironwoods to offset carbongenerated atEarth Day celebrationsat El Estero Park on 4/7 with 139 volunteer hours. 4 Santa Barbara City College Communications Dept volunteers braved spotty showers and weeded34 trees at Glen Annie Open Space on 4/20 with 12 volunteer hours. Our 'Sneezeless Tree' event on 4/21 attracted 43 volunteers planting 22 trees with 130 volunteer hours. El Camino Principal Kim Bruzzese led the volunteers withthe support ofSouthern California Gas, and The American Lung Associating. Assemblyman Pedro Nava andCounty supervisor Janet Wolf also lent their support.
To sign up for a volunteer activity, send an e-mailScottor leave a message at 685-7910.
-Also Click here to see the calendar

GVB2007 Membership Drive ends - Thanks for your support


This year we didn't have the funds to send a mass membership mailing to everyone in the Goleta Valley. We also asked members to use their cancelled checks/credit card receipts as their receipt in lieu of another mailing from us. Although we've picked up only a few new members, our renewing members have been more generous thanin previous years. Your support helps us leverage our funds with grant and corporate funders. For those of you who still haven't renewed, better late than never!

    Upcoming Goleta Valley Beautiful Events- call 685-7910 for information/reservations


  1. May 19 - 33rd Annual Awards Banquet & Silent Auction. Invitations also posted on our website www.goletavalleybeautiful.org
  2. June 24- 6th Annual Goleta Valley Heritage Tree Tour - One bus + one popular professor + specimen trees in places you rarely see, including Bishop Ranch, Dos Pueblos Ranch, and Randy's Secret Garden.
  3. July 4 - Goleta Fireworks Raffle - Although this is a Rotary event, GVB is also selling raffle tickets as a joint fundraiser.
  4. July 14 - 1st Annual Garden Tour & Bazaar 6 award-winning landscapes on self-guided tour, + drawing to win Landscape Consultation by one of 4 top designers, and much more. Contact Bonnie at 683-1878 orGVB website


GVBMay ResidentialAwardWinner-

5055 Del Monaco Drive,Paul and Mary Jo Chrestenson
The May award goes to 5055 Del Monaco Drive in Santa Barbara County. Recently retired, Mary Jo and Paul Chrestenson spend a lot of time in their gardens and it shows. A cottage garden that also pays great attention to wildlife, scents and sounds, there are vignettes at every turn and a charming fence topped with copper newels made by Paul. The Honey Locust tree (Gleditsia triacanthos), orange tree and bedding plants come alive in spring. Mary Jo said they compost everything and conserve inside so they can spare water outside.
You can nominate your favorite Goleta Valley Residential property by downloading a nomination form from the website at www.goletavalleybeautiful.org. You can also contact Goleta Valley Beautiful at 685-7910.

Dry weather is here Water Kings and Queens,fill your Treegators


It was so dry thiswinter that we never removed the Treegators(the green portable tree irrigator bags) from the newly planted trees. We didn't forget them. If you tree was planted anytime since May 2005, you should continue to use your Treegator throughout this summer.Its time to startdeep wateringyour young trees twice a month, using your Treegator if you have it.Keep up on the weeding around your tree and add up to 3-4 inches of mulch except by the root crown within 4 " of the trunk. Call us at 685-7910if you need help, additional mulch (Treegators work best on a bed of mulch-it helps prevent the bottom holes from clogging),or if youneed aTreegator.

Updates on the Sister Witness Tree, Girsh Park Honor Trees et al.


Thanks to those who spoke up about the status of the Sister Witness Tree at recent hearings about the San Jose Creek Flood control Project. Although the City staff claims there will be no impact, we are still pursuingefforts to identify and fence the tree's critical root zone before the project begins. Anyone wishing to help on efforts to assess this tree please call us at 685-7910.
At a recent Girsh Park Foundation Facilities meeting, there was general consensus on establishing tree planting zones inGirsh where the trees won't get splashed by above ground irrigators. These non turf tree zones are currently under consideration for future implementation.
The Hollister Beautification Project may or may not begin in June. We're still negotiating with the County Roads Division to determine future maintenance responsibilities.
Exec Director Ken Knight attended aGreenprint Conference hosted by the Sacramento Tree Foundation that described how areas like Santa Barbara County can initiate and elicit support large scale regional tree planting projects

    MoreApril 2007GVB accomplishments/Kudos


  1. Despite San Marcos Assistant Principal Ed Behrens aggressive work with a mattock, he and 17 other volunteers couldn't penetrate the concrete at our4/28 event. We worked 41 service hours on irrigation instead and will return May 12 with a jackhammer.
  2. 82 Dos Pueblos volunteers planted 3 Jacarandas and relandscape another Quad at DP on 7/14 using 240 service hours.
  3. Five Jewish Federation volunteers celebratedTu B'Shvat and Earth Day on 4/22 by planting 5 oaks in the Queen Ann Open Space. Thanks to neighbor Jack Wacholz for water and Greg Janee for watering
  4. Evergreen Devereux Greenhouse volunteersStacia and Adran Younghelped 20 of Jessica Morgan's first and 2nd grade La Patera students celebrate National Arbor Dayby planting 2 trees on 4/29.
  5. Work Training Program crewsfinished planting work at El Estero and El Camino, as well as supporting the other tree care efforts this month.
  6. Devereux clients are potting up sycamores and cottonwoods, and Big leaf Maples at the Greenhouse.
  7. The Nason Litter Crewspent13 hours collecting9.5 bags of roadside litter. They wish to recognize Spectrum Health Club for assisting them in their efforts to dispose of the collected waste

Citizen Pruners - Sharpen Your Snips, We need you.


For those of you recently trained at our February workshop, we have young tree care pruning projects all over the Goleta Valley to deal with frost damage, raising crowns to allow for ground maintenance, and formative pruning. Flexible hours. Call 685-7910 for assignments.

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Goleta Valley Beautiful E-Mail News - June 2007



6th Annual GVB Heritage Tree Tour on June 24th - Student Scholarships Available

    GVB Volunteer Opportunities-GVB Office and message phone number 685-7910
  1. Saturday Morning Tree Plantings/Tree Care - 9 am to noon
  2. June 2 - Isla Vista School, 6875 El Collegio Rd. Meet in parking lot
  3. June 9 - Kellogg School, 475 Kellogg Drive. Meet in parking lot
  4. June 16 - Hollister Avenue Beautification - Meet at Evonshire and Hollister
  5. June 23 - San Marcos High, 4750 Hollister, Meet in rear Hollister parking lot in back of tennis courts
  6. June 30 - Honor Tree Maintenance, Meet at the Dos Pueblos High Tennis Court entrance off Cathedral Oaks
  7. Wednesday morning Tree Care events, June 6, 13, 20, 27, 9 to noon - call 685-7910 for locations
  8. Devereux Greenhouse/Growing Grounds young tree care - Every Mon & Fri 9 am to Noon - Call 685-7910
  9. Litter pickup 2nd and 4th Sat. - Call Don and Judy Nason 964-4895
  10. Graffiti removal and reporting - Call Ed Graper 964-7117, edgraper@yahoo.com
  11. Monthly Goleta Valley Beautiful award nominations - Call Bonnie Freeman 683-1878 or Phebe Mansur 685-2277
  12. Citizen Pruners - Saturday AM young tree care projects in conjunction with planting projects. Call 685-7919
  13. 2 Student representative seats on the GVB Board of Directors beginning September 2007. Call 685-7910
  14. Additional GVB ongoing indoor/outdoor volunteer community service activities, call 685-7910
  15. 10 Garden Tour Docents needed. Complimentary admission to the July 14 Garden Tour Party for those volunteering to be a docent for half the time at one of our homes. Contact Bonnie at 683-1878


6th Annual Goleta Valley Heritage Tree Tour - Sunday, June 24 Sponsored by Santa Barbara Airbus


The 6th Annual Goleta Valley Heritage Tree Tour - One bus + one popular professor + specimen trees in places you rarely see, including Bishop Ranch, Dos Pueblos Ranch, and Randy's Secret Garden. You'll see the south coast's largest collection of giant mature Moreton Bay Fig Trees (over 50!), trees planted in traditional ranchero style at the turn of the century at Bishop Ranch, and a view of the Sister Witness Tree, the largest and possibly oldest tree in the Goleta Valley. This is another fun event to benefit Goleta Valley Beautiful's ongoing activities.
We'll meet at noon on Sunday June 24th at the Sizzler Restaurant, 5555 Hollister Avenue for a no-host lunch and tour of the Witness tree and the sister Witness Tree across the street. At 1:00 PM we'll board a comfortable Santa Barbara Airbus for a tour hosted by Santa Barbara City College Professor Emeritus Jerry Sortomee and return at 5:00 PM to the Sizzler Restaurant. Reservations are $60 for Non -GVB members and $50 for GVB members by calling 685-7910 by June 22nd. Student scholarships available.

Click here to download the form & reserve your seat for 2007 Tour

May was a Maintenance Month


The weather warmed up in May, and while the number of volunteers starts its seasonal decline, we're still extremely busy maintaining the trees we've already planted. At our last Dos Pueblos High event, 31 volunteers contributed 101 hours to plant 2 oaks (our 100th tree on the campus this year!), replace two other trees that failed, install an irrigation system to the lower Cathedral Oaks oaks, and weed and mulch the M Quad. Our last San Marcos High event (on the May 12, the day of the Prom!) 11 Volunteers contributed 33 hours and planted 5 Euryop shrubs, 3 Island Oaks, repaired and extended drip irrigation systems and watered trees not on irrigations systems, and removed 3 Ironwood trees planted earlier in the year. On May 19, 6 volunteers contributed 18 hours of service to install drip irrigation systems at Ellwood School and at El Estero Park.
To sign up for a volunteer activity, send an e-mailScott or leave a message at 685-7910.
-Also Click here to see the calendar

    Other Upcoming Goleta Valley Beautiful Events - call 685-7910 for information/reservations


  1. July 4 - Friday- Goleta Fireworks Raffle - Although this is a Rotary event, GVB is also selling raffle tickets as a joint fundraiser.
  2. July 14 - Saturday 1st Annual Garden Tour & Bazaar – 6 award-winning landscapes on self-guided tour, + drawing to win Landscape Consultation by one of 4 top designers, and much more. Contact Bonnie at 683-1878 or GVB website. See volunteer section above
  3. July 18 - Wednesday - Participate in the cloning of the Sister Witness Tree. Call 685-7910


GVB June Residential Award Winner: 5242 Austin Rd Gordon & Patricia Feingold


The June award sits above the cliffs at 5242 Austin Road in Santa Barbara County. Gordon and Patricia Feingold inherited this dramatic seaside landscape along with their new contemporary home in 1994, but since 1996 Patricia Feingold has been editing and caring for the large collection of palms (Queen, Canary Island, Pygmy, King, Mexican Fan) Salvias, Tagetes lemmonii, and grasses, to name a few. A wide dry creek bed dotted with tons of local stone winds through the entire property, while a living wall of Oleander encloses it. Annual mulching keeps weeds down, covers drip lines, and aids the drought tolerant plantings.
You can nominate your favorite Goleta Valley Residential property by downloading a nomination form from this website. You can also contact Goleta Valley Beautiful at 685-7910.

Young trees need supplemental summer water, like we said last month


It was so dry this winter that we never removed the Treegators (the green portable tree irrigator bags) from the newly planted trees. We didn't forget them. If you tree was planted anytime since May 2005, you should continue to use your Treegator throughout this summer. Its time to start deep watering your young trees twice a month, using your Treegator if you have it. Keep up on the weeding around your tree and add up to 3-4 inches of mulch except by the root crown within 4 " of the trunk. Call us at 685-7910 if you need help, additional mulch (Treegators work best on a bed of mulch-it helps prevent the bottom holes from clogging), or if you need a Treegator.

    Updates on the Sister Witness Tree, Hollister Beautification, et al.

  1. The Final Mitigated Negative Declaration/Environmental Assessment for the San Jose Creek Project will be heard by the Goleta City Council on June 4, and it appears that the Sister Witness Tree will not be directly impacted by the project. We are still pursuing efforts to identify and fence the tree's critical root zone before the project begins. Our measurements indicate the circumference of the Sister Witness tree is over 50 feet, with a width of approximately 100 feet and a height of 105 feet. The Witness Tree in comparison is 30 feet in circumference. Unless anyone else has better information, the Sister Witness Tree may be the largest tree in the Goleta Valley, when measuring trunk size. Any challengers?
  2. The Hollister Beautification Project is tentatively scheduled for June 19. We're still negotiating details with the County Roads Division and hope to have the details resolved by June 8th, or the project will be postponed.
  3. GVB received notices of grant awards from several different agencies this past month, including a $500 grant from the City Of Goleta Community Projects Fund to do as assessment of the Sister Witness Tree to determine if it is a Heritage Tree, and $1000 to finance tree planting efforts at Girsh Park.
  4. The UCSB Environmental Affairs Board provided a $2000 grant to GVB to cover costs of tree planting projects to be conducted this fall in Isla Vista to help offset the carbon impacts of Earth Day related activities.
  5. GVB also received a $33,191 Grant from the Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program from the Resources Agency to plant 140 native trees in the southbound 101 offramp at Los Carneros Interchange. We've been chasing that last grant for 3 years. Most of these grants will be implemented this fall and winter.
  6. New Board member Oscar Briones became our newest board member this month, as we say farewell to student Board members Danielle Havicon and Juliette Wigley. Juliette is studying in Costa Rica for the summer, while Danielle is graduating and getting married. Good luck to our departing members and we look forward to two new student Board members in the fall.


    More May 2007 GVB accomplishments/Kudos

  1. Our hardworking group of current and former Board of Directors produced a stellar 33rd Annual Awards Dinner and Silent Auction. 105 people attended to recognize the Annual award winners and a series of awards that recognized our noteworthy volunteers, including our Master of Ceremonies Larry Crandell. Thanks to the Valley Voice and the News Press for their follow-up coverage. See our website for more information and please patronize our generous Silent Auction sponsors, efficiently coordinated by the lovely Nancy Knight.
  2. Volunteers Joe and Zea Bauer, Page Hiller-Adams, and Phebe Mansur staffed the GVB tables for the 5/24 Science Night at Isla Vista School. May all your acorns sink.
  3. Work Training Program crews are mulching School and Park trees this month, with help from County Public Works Solid Waste mulch deliveries.
  4. Devereux clients and Evergreen Devereux Greenhouse volunteers Stacia and Adran Young are finishing repotting sycamores, cottonwoods, and Big Leaf Maples at the Greenhouse.
  5. Helen McPherrin provided our volunteers with goodies after one of her periodic trips to Costco.
  6. The Nason Litter Crew posed for photos in the VV and spent 15 hours collecting 13 bags of roadside litter.
  7. And thanks to the great recognition we received from the San Marcos High PTSA- Very Special Person Honorary Service Award
  8. UCSB Associated Students Community Affairs Board 2006-07 Outstanding 'Agency of the Year'

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Goleta Valley Beautiful E-Mail News - July 2007



1st Annual Goleta Valley Garden Tour - Saturday July 14th - Details Below

    GVB Volunteer Opportunities-GVB Office and message phone number 685-7910
  1. Saturday Morning Tree Plantings/Tree Care - 8 am to 11 am (NOTE new earlier summer times!)
  2. July 7 - No Project
  3. July 14 - Devereux Greenhouse tree nursery care - 8 to 11 am
  4. July 21 - School Tree Care - Meet at La Patera 55 La Patera Lane, and then on to El Camino and Foothill
  5. July 28 - School Tree Care - Meet at the old El Rancho School (now SB Montessori), 7421 Mirano Dr.
  6. Saturday July 14 Noon to 5:30 pm -Garden Tour Docents needed. Complimentary admission to the Garden Tour Party for those volunteering to be a docent for half the time at one of our homes. Contact Bonnie at 683-1878
  7. Honor Tree Plaque Care - Reinforce plaques with concrete screws - Girsh Park, Page Youth Center, GVB Honor Row, various locations. One hour shifts at your convenience. 30 shifts needed, call 685-7910
  8. Wednesday morning Tree Care events, July 18,25, 8:30 to 11:30 am - call 685-7910 for locations
  9. Devereux Greenhouse/Growing Grounds young tree care - Every Mon & Fri 9 am to Noon - Call 685-7910
  10. Litter pickup 2nd and 4th Sat. - Call Don and Judy Nason 964-4895
  11. Graffiti removal and reporting - Call Ed Graper 964-7117, edgraper@yahoo.com
  12. Monthly Goleta Valley Beautiful award nominations - Call Bonnie Freeman 683-1878 or Phebe Mansur 685-2277
  13. Citizen Pruners - 50 3-hour Young tree care projects. Variable weekday, evening or weekend hours. Call 685-7919
  14. Additional GVB ongoing indoor/outdoor volunteer community service activities, call 685-7910


First Goleta Valley Garden Tour - Saturday, July 14, 12:30-5:30


Come see the sometimes hidden and beautiful areas of our Goleta Valley in three nearby locations featuring 6 award-winning landscapes, plus an Urban Farm showcasing a low maintenance vegetable garden, a children's garden, plants to buy, demonstrations, a door prize, free refreshments and more. Local exhibitors will be on hand with displays and educational information. Win a drawing to get a high-value landscape consultation from one of four top Santa Barbara designers. A family affair with children 12 and under gaining free admission. Docents will be present at each home along with designers, or homeowners providing information about each landscape.
A party of 4 or more gets a discount of $5 off each person. Tickets can be purchased the day of the event at the urban farm home base - 5200 Austin Road (Patterson Ave, S), or at the sustainable home - 845 Norma Way (Patterson Ave, N). Look for articles in The News-Press (July 7th), the Independent (July 12 Virginia Hayes), the Valley Voice (July 6th Jeannine Bertuzzi column) and the calendar sections.
Our wonderful sponsors for this first year are COMMUNITY WEST BANK, Kitson Landscape Management, Inc., Goleta Building Materials, San Marcos Growers, Terra Sol Nursery, and Cicileo Landscape & Maintenance. To find out more, purchase advance tour and/or consultation tickets, please contact Bonnie Freeman at 683-1878, bonniegoleta@aol.com

Hollister Avenue Anti-Graffiti Beautification Project Planted


Thanks to the 36 volunteers who contributed 174 service hours at the Hollister Avenue Anti-Graffiti Landscaping Project on 6/19. In addition to volunteers from the surrounding neighborhood, volunteer groups represented included Rotary Clubs from Goleta Noontime, Santa Barbara North, Downtown as well as Santa Barbara Rotaract, the Coalition for Sensible Planning and the Homeowners Defense Fund. The hardworking volunteers stayed well into the afternoon to finish planting and watering 11 Island Oaks, 45 Climbing Aloe and 45 Boston Ivy "Hacienda Creeper", installation of 900' of irrigation tubing with 300 emitters, 900' of weed block held down with 500 soil staples, and covered with a pile of mulch delivered in a one ton truck. The extremely hard clay soil was so difficult to deal with that only half of the 67 tree and aloe stakes were completely installed. On two subsequent weekends with another 24 service hours of effort, we spread two more truckloads of mulch, completed the installation of the stakes and installation of the irrigation system.
Thanks to the Homeowners Defense Fund and Santa Barbara Rotaract for their grants to finance this project, and for additional support on project day including pizza drinks and snacks for the volunteers, and additional hoses to help complete the initial watering of the plants. Additional support came from Martha Degasis for her assistance in the design, Second District County Supervisor Wolf's office and County Public Works staff for their support in processing the permits, Girls Inc. for their support, and to Gary Earle, Wendy Coggins and Judy Ishkanian for their leadership in developing and implementing the project.
To sign up for a volunteer activity, send an e-mailScott or leave a message at 685-7910.
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6th Annual Goleta Valley Heritage Tree Tour A Crowd Pleaser


    The 6th Annual Goleta Valley Heritage Tree Tour received accolades from all who attended Sunday, June 24th. This annual fundraiser and tree-awareness event once again revealed the awe-inspiring wonders of nature that have graced our area for hundreds of years, and that we hope to preserve for future generations. There are many to thank for the success of this event;
  1. Santa Barbara Airbus has been the primary sponsor of the tour since 2002, and as usual, driver Emilo represents the high quality and courtesy that Santa Barbara Airbus has to offer.
  2. Sizzler Restaurant provided the luncheon location and continues to be a good steward in preserving the landmark Witness Tree.
  3. Tour guide and Professor Emeritus Jerry Sortomme returned for his 5th time as tour guide, assisted at times by Arborists Bill Spiewak and Bill Millar. Please check out Jerry's Huerta Project at the Santa Barbara Mission that is restoring many of the original and historically appropriate plants.
  4. Randy Baldwin of San Marcos Growers who for the 6th time invited us into his private gardens to reveal a rich diversity of plants and trees, including the most beautiful Arbutus in the entire south coast.
  5. Bishop Ranch and the Larwin Company for allowing us access to the specimen trees surrounding the 1907 farmhouse on the grounds.
  6. Henry Schulte for allowing access to Dos Pueblos Ranch, where visitors marveled at the 54 trees in the Moreton Bay Fig Forest on the grounds, and to Sam Alfano for arranging the visit.
  7. And special thanks to all those who supported the tour by attending.


Water Kings and Queens, We Need You!


Volunteer Emily Mason is helping San Marcos High ground crews water trees this summer, while thewell organized Beautify Dos Pueblos committee is also on a regular watering schedule. While we like to trumpet the number of trees we plant and care for, we are also sorry to report that we lose about 15 trees a year out of the trees that we plant, mostly due to lack of water. Last week, we removed 6 dead Brisbane Box trees along Cathedral Oaks from a group that we planted 5 years ago. Ironically, 4 of them died from too much water created by overflows from the adjacent Glen Annie Golf Club. More often than not, newly planted young trees die because the Water Kings and Queens that we depend upon to help water young trees for the first two summers after installation sometimes forget, misunderstand or simply don't follow through. Call us at 685-7910 if you would like to help or if you see a young tree in need of help. Don't wait till its too late.

Isla Vista trees get cared for on 6/2 and other Kudos


Thanks to the 24 volunteers who contributed 72 service hours for the 6/2/07 tree care day at Isla Vista School and at the adjacent Isla Vista Recreation and Park District Camino Corto and Del Sol Open Spaces. Volunteers included parents and students from Isla Vista Elementary School, Santa Barbara Junior High School, UCSB Honors Program, Kappa Sigma, Tri-Delta, Circle K, EAB, and Gamma Phi Beta. The volunteers loaded a one ton truckload of mulch into containers and hauled it to the 43 trees planted on the campus on January 15. Each tree was weeded and mulched, and some of the dry trees were hand watered. EAB volunteer Polly Uttayaya led members of the 6th grade Isla Vista School class in replanting one of the Island Oaks that didn't make it from the January planting. This tree planting was part of an example of the efforts students can make towards combating global warming. After the school trees were cared for, we then went to the adjacent IVRPD open spaces where we weeded and mulched about 60 Coast Live Oaks planted along the edges by GVB volunteers several years ago. Thanks to Helen McPherrin for snacks for the volunteers.
Work Training Program crews did their usual great support work in getting areas ready for volunteer projects, and finishing up projects that weren't quite completed or need extra work. They are unsung heroes.
Devereux clients and Evergreen Devereux Greenhouse volunteers Stacia and Adran Young worked on repotting Island oaks and redbuds at the Greenhouse.
The Nason Litter Crew spent 21.5 hours collecting 12 bags of roadside litter. They are working so hard they are wearing out their Grip and Grab tools.

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Goleta Valley Beautiful E-Mail News - August 2007



Wanted: Part time Data Entry Clerk, 8 hrs/week, $8/hr. See below

    GVB Volunteer Opportunities-GVB Office and message phone number 685-7910

  1. Devereux Greenhouse/Growing Grounds tree nursery care - Every Mon, Fri, and Sat. mornings - Call 685-7910
  2. Litter pickup 2nd and 4th Sat. - Call Don and Judy Nason 964-4895
  3. Graffiti removal and reporting - Call Ed Graper 964-7117, edgraper@yahoo.com
  4. Monthly Goleta Valley Beautiful award nominations - Call Bonnie Freeman 683-1878 or Phebe Mansur 685-2277
  5. Additional GVB ongoing indoor/outdoor volunteer community service activities, call 685-7910


First Goleta Valley Garden Tour Shows Sustainable Beauty


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The 1st Annual Goleta Valley Garden Tour and Bazaar on July 14th was a huge success. Chair Bonne Freeman, along with Co-Chairs Lori Roper, Marc Bradley and Cecilia Brown, coordinated almost 1000 volunteer service hours in producing this event. Many thanks to the 7 homeowners who opened up their homes for display, to our 4 exhibitors, 14 docents and 4 consultants who donated their services. You can read more about the event and see more photos on this website PostGTPressRelease

Help wanted - we're growing!


The paperwork is growing faster than our trees! Goleta Valley Beautiful is looking for a part time data entry clerk to help input data on membership, financial spreadsheets, volunteer hours and more. Experience with WORD and EXCEL desirable but accuracy in keyboard entry is essential. The position will work at the direction of the Executive Director and average eight hours per week at $8.00 per hour, with flexible work times. Applicant must be at least 18 years old. This position will be open until filled. First preference will be given to current Goleta Valley Beautiful members and their families. For information call 685-7910 or e-mail qualifications to kennethknight@cox.net

Devereux Greenhouse Tree Nursery Expands


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Thanks to 200 supervisors and students attending a regional LDS Youth conference who took time out to contribute 400 service hours at the Goleta Valley Beautiful Growing Grounds at the Devereux Greenhouse. Also participating in the preparation leading up to and including the event was GVB Board member Al Scholl, 4 UCSB Environmental Affairs Board volunteers including Quentin Gee, Chris and the Devereux Crew, and GVB Greenhouse volunteers Stacia and Adran Young.
    Here's what we accomplished;
  1. Mixed 250 15 gallon containers of soil, perlite and fertilizer, transported to others who repotted 250 1 gallon coast Live Oak and Island Oak into them, watered them and transported them to growing grounds
  2. Covered the expanded growing ground area with ground cloth and added 7 irrigation lines, each with room for approximately 100 individual irrigation line extensions
  3. Prepared and installed 600 irrigation line extensions with irrigation spitters and barbs
  4. Mixed another 200 15 gallon containers of soil perlite and fertilizer for future plantings
  5. Replaced 50 broken slats on Greenhouse Growing tables
  6. Installed and prepared for installation 48 braces and supports for the interior Greenhouse growing tables
  7. Removed all weeds from the floor of the Greenhouse and from the Growing Grounds area.


Special thanks to the Shoreline Preservation Fund for their financial support in making this Greenhouse maintenance and expansion project possible. When completed, this project will expand the Devereux Growing Grounds from 1000 to 1500 trees. Goleta Valley plants approximately 500 trees a year in schools, parks, street parkways and other public areas of the Goleta Valley. Since it takes about three years to grow a tree to planting size, this expansion allows Goleta Valley Beautiful to have an ongoing supply of trees to plant.

Meet the Interns


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GVB Greenhouse interns Abby Horn, Nathan Yee, and Eric Sander are UCSB Interns working at the Devereux Greenhouse this summer. Ryan Schauland (not pictured) is also assisting at the Greenhouse

Cub Scouts clone Sister Witness Tree


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Thanks to the 130 Cub scouts at Day Camp on Wednesday 7/19/07 who helped clone 200 copies of the Sister Witness Tree. We also had help from Citizen Pruner Joe Bauer, City Arborist Bill Millar and Doubletree volunteer Gabe Suarez who visited the Sister Witness Tree site early Wednesday morning. We slashed away undergrowth around the Sister Witness Tree including nasty spined Canary Island Palm fronds) and used pole saws to prune some of the Sister Witness Tree's lower branches. We stopped a little early when we ran into a bee's nest, although fortunately no one was stung. Thanks also to Doubletree volunteer Gracie Lozaro who spent the day with the Scouts, and to other Cub Scout volunteers who assisted in the preparation and clean-up activities.

    July maintenance projects and other kudos


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  • Martha and Gus Degassis join Trish Kreiss in keeping the Hollister Ave corridor watered and weeded each week.
  • Treva Yang joined the GVB Board of Directors in July. You can see photos of all the GVB Board of Directors on our website.
  • Winchester Canyon residents led by Kris Hayes mulched and will water plants at the entryway to their subdivision. To the person that 'borrowed' $75 dollars worth of 15 gallon containers awaiting pick up after the 7/28 project , please give them back.
  • Work Training Program crews provided lifesaving water to new trees in schools and County parks during July. Devereux clients and Evergreen Devereux Greenhouse volunteers Stacia and Adran Young worked 23 hours repotting trees and fixing squirrel damaged irrigation lines at the Greenhouse.
  • The Nason Litter Crew spent 21.5 hours collecting 13 bags of roadside litter. Thanks to The City of Goleta for replacing their Grip and Grab tools. Don Nason asked us to pass along this story to you, "On Graduation weekend I was collecting trash along Cathedral Oaks just west of La Patera, grabbing and bagging the isolated scraps of paper as usual, when I noticed one that was different, so I hesitated. It was a clean envelope, appearing like something lost rather than discarded. A single handwritten name was on the front. I decided this needed to be returned to somebody, rather than consigned to a dumpster. I opened the weakly sealed envelope to get some identification and saw a graduation card and a check, folded in half. Looking at the check for an address, I saw it was a "bank check" on a San Francisco bank and made out to the name with address of someone who lived there. From the amount I quickly figured this must be for a UCSB grad, not a DP grad! When I got home I tried to get a phone number for that name and address in San Francisco. No luck. Rather than get involved in playing detective to find the rightful owner, I turned it in at the S.B. County Sheriff as lost property. They gasped at the amount. So will you. The check was for $10,000! Leaving the police with my name and phone number, Judy received a call later that afternoon from a local lady (name withheld) who had been identified as the payer and had lost the graduation gift for her grandson. She thanked Judy and said she would be writing me a letter of thanks."

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