BTF News

See BTF's Non-Profit Profile on Guidestar

Benicia Tree Foundation just earned a 2019 Gold Seal by adding information to our Nonprofit Profile on GuideStar.  GuideStar is the world’s largest source of information on nonprofit organizations. Now our community members as well as 10+ million GuideStar users can find in-depth information about our goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress. 

Use #GiveLocalSolano on Giving Tuesday

Have you heard of Giving Tuesday?  It is a global day of giving, and its a great opportunity to make a difference in your community by donating to the causes you care about.  This year, join us here at the Benicia Tree Foundation as we participate with 28 other non-profit organizations in the local effort called #GiveLocalSolano to raise money for our favorite causes in Solano County on Giving Tuesday.

The Second Saturday Tree Care Day was held at Joe Henderson Elementary School on November 9.  Twenty-four volunteers gathered together to help prepare 80 trees for the winter.  That means clearing out the tree wells so they get as much rain runoff as possible, and mulching around the trees so that soil moisture is retained and weed growth is suppressed. 

On October 19, 2019, an old park in Benicia got a major face lift.  Park Solano, at the corner of Hastings Drive and Solano Drive , was greeted early Saturday morning by 50 eager volunteers and a truck-full of trees!  The City of Benicia had prepared the old park for this big day.

The Second Saturday Tree Care Day was held at Robert Semple Elementary School, where students and neighbors helped plant trees around the playfied on the Semple campus back in 2013.  On October 12, volunteers found the trees growing well.  21 trees were mulched.  Mulching helps reduce weeds and retain soil moisture.  A Tree Care Day will be planned this winter to prune, after the deciduous trees loose their leaves.  Below are before/after pictures for one of the Incense cedars that was mulche

Yesterday a group of six volunteers completed pruning of the coast live oaks planted at Benicia High along Military West by the Benicia Tree Foundation in 2012.  Late summer is the best time to prune Coast live oaks (Quercus agrifolia) because they go dormant at that time to survive California's hot dry season.  Click here for some expert guidance on pruning California oaks prepared by the University of California Cooperative E

Plans are proceeding with the Park Solano tree planting project.  Volunteers are requested to arrive at the park at 9:00 AM, which is located at the intersection of Hastings Drive and Solano Drive.  The morning's activities will start with welcoming comments from Supervisor Monica Brown and Mayor Elizabeth Patterson.  This will be followed with a demonstration by staff from the City Parks and Community Services Department on how to plant a tree.  After receiving this instruction, tree planting can begin.   A tree-related scavenger hunt is planned after the tree

Six volunteers helped out at Benicia High School for Benicia Tree Foundation's 2nd Saturday Tree Care Day in September.  Twenty-five trees throughout the campus that were planted in the last two years were watered, weeded and/or mulched. 

Save the Date, Saturday, October 19, for a tree planting project at Park Solano, a two-acre neighborhood park located at the corner of Solano Drive and Hastings Drive, across from the firestation in Southampton.  We need volunteers to help rejuvenate this 30-year old park with new trees.  Since April of this year, Benicia Tree Foundation has been working with a donor (who is paying for the trees) and City staff to identify locations and species for 13 new trees, consistent wtih the Master Plan adopted by the City for this park in 1997.

The schedule for Tree Care Days slows down in the summer for the Benicia Tree Foundation.  Tasks are limited to watering trees that are still in their establishment period.

In June we had Tree Care Day at Mary Farmar and Benicia High.  The campuses are adjacent to each other and each had trees that were planted last winter and needed watering.  At Benicia High were were watering acorns that sprouted last winter.  We planted at 18 locations and 16 spouted with Coast live oak saplings.