400 volunteers plant trees in San Francisco

Volunteers plant a tree outside Francisco Middle School in North Beach for the Eco Fair. Volunteers plant a tree outside Francisco Middle School in North Beach for the Eco Fair. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close 400 volunteers plant trees in San Francisco 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

Hundreds of volunteers shoveled soil, scrubbed graffiti and rounded up litter Saturday in an effort to beautify San Francisco’s North Beach and Chinatown neighborhoods, which got 32 new trees along the way.

Many of the estimated 400 laborers were high school students who had logged off their typical weekend schedules, branching out to boost urban greenery that’s been truncated over the years. The mood at the festivities was cheerful, and no one was too sappy as the young Victorian box, Brisbane box, Italian buckthorn and flowering cherry trees took root amid the pavement.

“I’m not a dirt kind of person,” said Andrea Richardson, 16. “I don’t usually like germs touching me.”

But working for the Garden Project — an environmental program for at-risk youth — has made her more open to dirt and germs, and she busily shoveled soil to make room for a sapling. A large contingent of tree planters on Saturday was from the organization.

Trees ‘a sign of life’

Matthew Garrick-Kidd, 15, also a member of the group, helped plant several trees outside Francisco Middle School.

“I feel like a neighborhood without trees is not a good neighborhood,” he said. “They’re a sign of life. They take in carbon dioxide. I can go through the whole biology if you want.”

The teenagers pointed out that trees clean the air and make the neighborhood more pleasant. Carla Short, superintendent of the urban forestry bureau in the city’s Department of Public Works, added that trees help absorb rainfall, so the drainage system doesn’t dump excess water into the bay. She also said studies show that trees on city streets make drivers slow down and can even lower crime rates.

The tree planting was part of the city’s annual Eco Fair day. While the volunteer work was the highlight, there were plenty of other activities, including goats for petting, snow cones for eating and 70-foot-high bucket truck rides for those pretending to be an arborist.

Better upkeep needed

Behind all the fun, though, was a grim reality for city workers. For one, they said, San Francisco has one of the worst tree-per-capita ratios of comparable cities. And the trees it does have are not supported by needed maintenance funds. Only one-third of trees in the city are cared for by the Department of Public Works. In a controversial policy, the rest have been “relinquished” in recent years to residents, who often don’t — or can’t — provide the same standard of upkeep.

The city recently contracted with ArborPro, whose workers are busy counting trees as part of San Francisco’s first-ever comprehensive tree inventory. Officials hope the census — which is tabulating numbers, species, sizes and conditions — will provide some guidance for where to target maintenance and new trees.

Cathrine Sneed, who founded Garden Project more than 20 years ago, said Saturday’s event was as much about taking care of trees as it was taking care of youth in the community.

“We’ve lost our contact with nature,” she said. “And I think that’s made us more anxious, more unhappy.”

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov