In mid-2013, California Urban Forests Council (CaUFC) and the Western Chapter International Society of Arboriculture (WCISA) launched the Invest From the Ground Up – Community Tree Planting Program (IFGU-Trees). Funding was provided from grants from the USDA Forest Service State and Private Forestry Western Competitive Resource Allocation ($299,900) and the CalFire Urban and Community Forestry program ($75,000). The grants were administered through CaUFC. In 2013/14, the State and Regional Program Partners included the following: • California Urban Forests Council • Western Chapter International Society of Arboriculture • California ReLeaf • Local Government Commission • Bay Area Regional Urban Forests Ecosystem Council • San Joaquin Valley Regional Urban Forests Council • San Diego Regional Urban Forests Council • Epicenter Management 27 Planting Partners (grantees) participated in the program planting trees in 51 unique locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Southern San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California. Our goals and the subsequent outcomes are summarized in the table below:
ORIGINAL GOAL  FINAL OUTCOME
Plant 2,000 trees Planted 2,021 trees total
Improve air quality  2,021 trees will remove approximately 424 tons of CO2 and 12,207 pounds of pollutants per year, at maturity
Remain within $374,900 budget Approximately $18,000 under allotted Forest Service budget (CalFire grant conclude March 15)
Generate thousands of volunteers 3,431 volunteers put in over 11,493 hours of volunteer time
Generate matching funds Total of $471,428.59 calculated matching funds
General publicity The events received publicity in various forms including; newspaper articles, local news airings, radio and TV exposure, and internet articles.
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