Fruit Tree Giveaway

The 2007 GPIA Tree Giveaway was a major success! Here are a few pictures from the day.
Special thanks to all of our volunteers. And a big, big thanks to brand new GPIA President, Laura
Gutierrez. She's off to a great start!! Today over 400 trees (and free mulch) were given away to people
from all over Northeast L.A. TreePeople donated 150 fruit trees. The Mayor's million tree initiative was
there, giving out trees as well, and a big thanks to them, to TreePeople and the L.A. Corps who support
this initiative. The event was so successful, we may be doing another one this year. We'll keep you
posted. As always a big and heartfelt thank-you to Citizen Forester Alonso Calderon who helped Laura to
organize this event. Special thanks to Super King Market and Sevan Bakery who donated delicious
sandwiches, salads and desserts to feed our volunteers.

Our volunteers included: Laura Gutierrez, Alonso Calderon, Alfred Marin, Rudolfo Vega, Sonia Marie DeLeon Vega, and son
Rudolfo (Dodi) Vega, Helene Schpak, Brian Frobisher, Jim Kiehl, Alisa Smith, Judy Kagan and daughter Carrie, Magy Perez and
daughter Samantha, Ramon Bernal, Mark Quiroz and Maggie Darret and daughter Paulina, John Geary, Miriam Escobar with son
Carlos and daughter Candida, George Brauckman, Mitch O'Farrell, Helen Jacobs, Tony Delazeri, and Cosmo Delazeri. And
Elisabeth and Manuel Ontiveros from Hermon.

A very special "Thank You" to Sally Martinez, Sr. Caseworker for Council President Eric Garcetti. Sally was there first
thing in the morning (with husband Fred) coordinating set up with Laura. Sally staffs the Satellite Field Office at the
Glassell Park Community and Senior Center and is a tremendous asset to Council District 13 and to Glassell Park.
City Council President Eric Garcetti was there to show his support, as were CD 13 staff members, Alejandra Marroquin,
Mitch O'Farrell, Joe Bernardo, Kabira Stokes-Hochberg and Sam Siegel. Thanks to Billie Jean Londono of the district
as well.

Also on hand to show support was Councilmember Jose Huizar and Glassell Park Field Deputy, Paul Habib from Council District
14. Jose and Eric Garcetti have each pledged to plant over 100,000 trees in their districts. Councilman Huizar left with a few
trees of his own to get started on that goal by planting some in his back yard.

We began the day at the beautiful Hansen Dam recreation area, out past Sunland Tujunga, prepping the fruit trees with Master
Gardeners and Citizen Foresters from TreePeople, under the direction of TreePeople's Steve Hofvendahl.
(click photos to enlarge -- special thanks to Brian Frobisher for the great photos.)

The pruning team goes to work. Pictured here are Helene Schpak and Samantha.

First we tagged each tree
appropriately

Laura from TreePeople
demonstrates how to
properly prune the
bare root tree.

The roots of the bare root trees
must be kept wet.

GPIA Improvement
Committee Chair Alfred
Marin bags a tree.

This is the ONLY kind of
tagging that should be
going on in our
neighborhood!

Volunteers wrap the roots with wet
newspaper, then insert the roots
into a plastic bag.

Ramon Bernal, Sr.
Director of the Glassell
Park Recreation Center
and a Citizen Forester.
Ramon was on the
pruning team.

GPIA Treasurer, Jim Kiehl
sorts the trees into
groups by species.

You can't help but
smile when Alonso and
Magy are around!

Alonso and Alfred.

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After the trees were all bagged up, we loaded them into the truck and brought them back to the Glassell Park Community and
Senior Center, where people were already lining up to get their free trees.