Greening Holmby Westwood’s Parkways:
The Holmby Westwood Green Team

September 28, 2018

As we have reported in past newsletters the Holmby Westwood Green Team has been working with Tree People to identify “Dream Streets” in the neighborhood—Little Holmby streets whose appearance and property values can be improved by planting missing parkway trees.  Working with Tree People, we are able to plant high-quality, heritage trees at no cost to the homeowner for the trees, permits or planting.

The Green Team focused on neighborhood streets that have the greatest number of missing parkway trees. Based upon the UCLA Parkway Tree Inventory and site visits, the Green Team and Tree People identified the area at the intersection of Malcolm and Manning Avenues as the most barren—35 missing trees– where parkway trees will have the greatest impact.

The Green Team and Tree People need the consent of owners in order to plant and to agree to care for the new trees;  Green Team will plan a Tree Planting Day  in the coming months.  During October, members of the Holmby Westwood Green Team will be in touch with the property owners to discus the project and to answer any questions.

The Green Team welcomes the participation of owners—we have informative meetings and need your help.  Please contact us if you would like to participate or with any questions:

Marnie Bodek
mossbodek@msn.com
310-493-7230

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July 19, 2018

Following up on the Holmby Westwood Parkway Tree Inventory presented by the UCLA Project Team at the HWPOA Annual Meeting, Marnie Bodek and Kathryn Welch Howe convened interested neighbors to discuss next steps.

Our neighborhood has over 2000 street trees that are an integral part of Westwood’s design as a Garden Suburb.  Holmby Westwood street trees were planted before the first houses were built in the 1920s; each street has a distinctive tree that relates to the character of the street and size of the parkway; for example, the Liquidambars on Loring and Warner Avenues, the Aleppo pines on Dalehurst, the Chinese Elms on Thayer.

Our parkway streets provide shade, aesthetic and environmental benefits, and significantly enhance the economic value of individual properties and the neighborhood.    The reverse is also true—houses without parkway trees are diminished in value and contribute to neighborhood decline. Drought, disease, owner actions and age have put stress on our valuable neighborhood trees: we have over 300 missing street trees—more than 15 % of the neighborhood is without parkway trees.

At their meeting, the neighbors decided to form a Green Team, to increase neighborhood appreciation of our unique tree canopy and to build awareness of proper tree care and maintenance.  The Green Team also decided to partner with Tree People, the national non-profit environmental organization located in Coldwater Canyon,  to identify appropriate replacements for missing parkway trees, and with owners’ consent and participation, to plant trees on our “Dream Streets”—streets that have the highest number of missing trees.

The Green Team welcomed working with Tree People to replace missing trees.  Tree People is recognized as one of the most effective and experienced environmental non-profit organizations in the country.  Tree People provides assistance to Los Angeles neighborhoods wishing to maintain and replenish their neighborhood street trees by providing free, quality trees, planting assistance, and coordination with the City.

Feel free to contact Marnie (mossbodek@msn.com) for more information about Holmby Westwood street trees and how you can become involved.