The non-profit organization Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) will conduct two tree plantings in June. Residents have until April 26 to sign up for the June 10 planting. The deadline for a tree planting in the Central Sunset and Parkside District is May 10 for the June 17 planting.

Residents who plant trees with FUF save about 75 percent of the total tree planting costs.

Most of the costs are covered by grants, government funding and private donations. Business and property owners and residents of the Inner Sunset and Parkside districts are eligible to request trees for their block. Someone other than the property owner can request a tree as long as the property owner signs a form approving the action.

Help is available to residents of the Sunset and Parkside districts to plant trees that add beauty to the neighborhood. Photo by Michael Durand.

Certified arborists are staffed at the FUF to make recommendations regarding tree species that are most suitable for the conditions at each planting site, but the property owner makes a final selection.

A subsidized “tree package,” costs about $135 (normally about $500), and includes a tree, permit processing and site preparation, including concrete removal. Tree plantings are community events that involve the tree recipients, volunteer tree planters and FUF staff working side-by-side. They last from 9 a.m. to about noon, followed by lunch.

“A tree planting brings neighbors together,” said FUF Executive Director DanFlanagan. “We love to help neighborhood residents transform and improve their blocks.”

To receive a tree in the Inner Sunset, sign up at the website at http://www.fuf.net/innersunset, or contact Esmeralda at info@fuf.net or (415) 268-0772. To receive a tree in the Parkside, sign up at www. fuf .net /parkside, or contact Esmeralda.