Story reposted with permission from The Times-Standard.
Around 30 years ago, some folks noted that while Eureka was known for having woods, at that point Eureka really didn’t have that many trees. They got together with the city, and Keep Eureka Beautiful was born. Boiled down, the primary goal proves to be simple: plant trees in sidewalks and front yards in Eureka. (Front yard trees need to be near the street and visible from the street.)
I interviewed volunteer Brian Fearon, who says his primary role is to dig a lot of holes. His wife, Chris Crema, chairs the effort, and she chimed in at times. Initially, the organization set the goal of planting 100 trees per year. They’ve already hit that mark for 2026 and may double it later this year. Since inception, Brian estimates that Keep Eureka Beautiful has planted over 1,650 trees.
That’s a lot in a small town. It’s an unfortunate fact that a few of those turn out to be replacement trees. The local caretaker — the property owner — needs to remember to water and care for them in the early going, or they won’t make it. And too often, young trees get vandalized. Brian asks citizens to report vandalism if they see it.
The group recently planted trees at the Eureka Chinatown Monument, a lovely space under construction in Old Town.
When someone wants trees, Keep Eureka Beautiful makes recommendations based on the situation of the site. The property owner then chooses the tree or trees they want. The organization pays for the tree, plants the tree and pays the city to make the sidewalk cut.
People have been more interested in native types these days, although that’s not required. The group avoids planting species that are aggressively invasive.
Volunteers and business owners seeking trees in front of their shops provided early funding. It didn’t take long for the Christine and Jalmer Berg Foundation Fund at the Humboldt Area Foundation to chip in, which the fund does to this day. If you want to help the effort, you can donate here: https://keepeurekabeautiful.com/donate/.
Brian and Chris attended the Eureka Friday Night Markets, where they sought volunteers for plantings, tree maintenance, cleanups, etc. If you connect with them there, you can inquire about getting a tree for your street or front yard. You can also join one of the group’s monthly meetings at the Adorni Center. Just contact them at info@keepeurekabeautiful.com to be put on the email meeting notification list for the meetings.
Brian wants folks to know the following: “We’re still active. We’re doing everything we can to make the streets more green and more calm. We try to avoid sidewalks being disrupted, and we work closely with the city.”
If planting trees is acting locally, there are powerful think-globally reasons to plant trees and beautify city streets. Urban forests slow traffic, sequester carbon, clean the air and water and increase property values. The Keep Eureka Beautiful website mentions another broad goal: “To motivate individuals to take personal responsibility for making Eureka a more beautiful and livable city.”
Each of us needs to take interest and a sense of ownership in the blocks in front of our home and business.
Last, but not least, don’t forget to water those new trees.
Michael Kraft writes the Good Work series, volunteering on behalf of the Northern California Association of Nonprofits (NorCAN). NorCAN, also a DreamMaker project, supports connections between people and organizations that work every day to keep our communities strong by offering professional development, board support, networking connections and more. Learn more at https://norcal-nonprofits.org/. To nominate a deserving nonprofit organization to be profiled, email michael@kraftconsultants.com.