Growing The Urban Forest of Barrio Logan

Urban Corps of San Diego County has partnered with Environmental Health Coalition to create an urban greening plan for Barrio Logan and plant 200 trees in the community in 2023. The urban greening plan and plantings are part of the project Tierra, Cultura, y Salud: A Plan to Protect and Preserve Our Barrio Logan that is supported by the California Strategic Growth Council’s Transformative Climate Communities Program with funds from California Climate Investments – Cap-and-Trade Dollars at Work.

Logan is one of the communities most impacted by air pollution in the San Diego region. Residents are surrounded by air pollution sources including the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, large shipyards, San Diego Naval Station, the I-5 and I-15 freeways, the Coronado Bridge, and a BNSF railyard, as well as smaller industries within the residential community itself. The multiple risk factors faced by residents are documented by CalEnviroScreen. Barrio Logan is number 1 in San Diego County for diesel particulate pollution and overall pollution burden.

Barrio Logan residents also experience excessive heat due to the heat island effect. Paved surfaces around us absorb heat during the day and re-emit it into the environment, warming it by up to 7 degrees F compared to less urban areas. The effect can be more pronounced at night, providing little relief even after the sun sets. This increases health risks, air pollutants, and energy use.

Residents have been demanding a fair share of health-promoting and climate resilience investments in the area for decades.

The planting of trees is a highly effective and economical way to combat climate change and improve the environment for the health of our community.

• Trees take up polluting gases and particles, cleaning the air we breathe.
• Trees cool the surrounding area, providing shade for our homes and public spaces, and protect against the urban heat island effect.
• Trees promote healthy communities by improving mental health, reducing stress, and encouraging physical activity.
• They make cities more walkable and safer by slowing traffic. 
• And they make our neighborhoods more beautiful.

Over the years, Urban Corps has planted thousands of trees throughout San Diego County, including 4629 trees planted between July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021. Recent tree planting projects include 2019 California Releaf program– planting 375 trees on Caltrans right of ways in disadvantaged communities and a 2018-19 CAL FIRE Urban Forestry grant – planting 2000 trees throughout the County.

Urban Corps of San Diego County is a certified local conservation corps that educates and employs underserved, low-income young adults ages 18-26, allowing them to complete high school and get paid while acquiring job skills training through a variety of projects including tree planting, environmental services, fire fuel reduction, community improvement services, habitat restoration, graffiti removal, landscaping, green building construction and recycling.

The first step is to evaluate the current tree canopy. Where do we have trees and where do we need trees?

We've started canvassing the area with the help of interns from Tree San Diego. They verified the presence of trees and identified vacant sites for potential tree planting. Tree San Diego interns have put in 137 hours towards this goal.

Several factors were considered to rank possible tree planting sites.

• Proximity to transit stops and routes- Trees can provide shade for waiting passengers at bus and trolley stops, and beautify the area along routes.
• Avoid areas of future capital improvement construction- We took future construction into consideration so planted trees will remain for many years to come. For more info on upcoming projects, see the CIP Project Map Viewer:  https://webmaps.sandiego.gov/cippublic/ 
• Tree Equity Score- This score considers current and potential tree canopy cover and also factors in temperature, demographic and socioeconomic data. Check out local tree equity scores here: https://www.treeequityscore.org/map/#13.11/32.6981/-117.12298

Use the form below or visit this website:

 https://arcg.is/1jTvDv 

Contact us if you have any questions or want to get involved.

Development Director

619-235-6884 x 3120

 lwelch@urbancorps.org 

www.urbancorpssd.org

EHC Organizer

AllieF@EnvironmentalHealth.org

Cell: 530-401-8095

EHC Policy Advocate

JulieC@EnvironmentalHealth.org

www.environmentalhealth.org

Tierra, Cultura, y Salud: A Plan to Protect and Preserve Our Barrio Logan is supported by California Strategic Growth Council’s Transformative Climate Communities Program with funds from California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment – particularly in disadvantaged communities.