THIS ISN”T QUITE what it would look like, but the City of Garden Grove has a grant to plant over 350 trees along a planned pedestrian/bike path on the route of the old Pacific Electric right-of-way from Nelson Street to Brookhurst Street (Flickr/Aetherspoon).

There was a time when the community of Garden Grove was a forest of orange trees. Now a different kind of panorama of trees is on the way.

The City of Garden Grove is developing a 40-year Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP) that will act as a guide for maintaining, enhancing, and growing an urban forest in Garden Grove.

The community is invited to participate in the UFMP development by attending a public workshop next Tuesday, Feb. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m., in the Butterfield B Room of the Garden Grove Community Meeting Center, located at 11300 Stanford Ave.

During the public workshop, an interactive presentation will highlight the city’s existing urban forest and the value behind its expansion and enhancement. Other topics include UFMP plan development and potential long- and short-term goals.

In addition, the community is encouraged to fill out an online survey that will help the city identify and understand community values in urban forestry.

The online survey can be accessed at http://bit.ly/gg-urban-forest-plan, until Saturday, April 18.

As part of the city’s Reimagine Garden Grove campaign, the UFMP project will help beautify Garden Grove’s open spaces with living canopy covers along bike- and pedestrian-friendly pathways. 

Thanks to a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) grant of $574,000, the City will plant over 350 trees along the bike and pedestrian trail on the Pacific Electric Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) right-of-way, from Nelson to Brookhurst streets.

Trees selected and approved by CAL FIRE include: Coast Live Oak, Thornless Palo Verde, Carolina Laurel Cherry, Arizona Cypress, Western Redbud, Toyon, Scrub Oak, Fernleaf Catalina Ironwood, Sweet Bay Laurel and Black Peppermint Tree.

The urban forest installation will be unveiled at the 4th Annual Open Streets event, to be held October 2020.

For more information, contact Paul Guerrero, Community and Economic Development Department, at (714) 741-5181.