City of Concord, CA
09/25/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/25/2024 15:48
Community to Build Micro Forest at Ayers Elementary
Join us on Saturday, Sept. 28 for Ayers Elementary Micro Forest Planting!
5120 Myrtle Drive in Concord
8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Volunteer with us and plant more than 700 trees and shrubs!
The Ayer's Elementary School Micro Forest is made possible thanks to an IRA-funded, U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Urban and Community Forest grant. In 2024, the City of Concord received a $1 million grant to improve management, condition, and education of its Urban Forest. As part of this grant, the City of Concord committed to collaborating with local educators at Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD), to create an educational and outreach opportunity to engage students on the value of trees in the community.
After collaborative meetings and planning with MDUSD staff, the Ayer's Elementary School site was chosen as an ideal location for a Micro Forest based on the school's ability to facilitate the forest at the location, the desire of the Ayer's School community to expand their Gardening Club Program, and MDUSD's commitment to ensure that the school staff and student body would be heavily engaged in ensuring the Micro Forest is maintained.
The City of Concord staff worked diligently over the last 8 months, with a contracted Landscape Architect and MDUSD leadership to draft a Micro Forest Planting Plan that was suitable for the location. Through this partnership, with guidance from the City's Urban Forest program and the commitment of daily and weekly attention of the Ayer's teaching staff, the student body, and MDUSD's maintenance team; the Ayer's Micro Forest will provide an amazing opportunity for students and the community to engage on the values and benefits of planting trees in urbanized areas.
The City and MDUSD are excited to bring this amazing opportunity to the community and look forward to seeing the forest grow and produce a compact, environmentally friendly, and sustainable green space on an otherwise unused area of Ayer's campus.