We tend to call the Parkway our crown jewel, but the real crown jewel of Sacramento, literally, is its trees; and it is in its trees that we see the great charm and beauty often resulting from the work of human hands improving nature for human habitation.
From the filling in of the former wetlands that became McKinley Park, to the shady, cool neighborhoods in the former sun-boiled valley floor, Sacramento truly has become a city of trees, embracing us all in their cool refreshing shade, fluttering leaves, and latticed light.
An excerpt.
Me and my shadows
Looking for a break from summer's heat? These spots were made for the shade
By Fahizah Alim -- Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:01 am PDT Wednesday, July 19, 2006
You want to enjoy the great outdoors, but it's so hot in Sacramento you can almost see the heat - or at least the waves off the pavement.
There's some relief awaiting in the area's urban forests, where massive shade trees create a canopy that can lower temperatures as much as 10 degrees, local arborists say.
With more than 6million trees, the shade in Sacramento and surrounding communities can take the edge off some of that pervasive heat, says Fran Clarke, stewardship coordinator for the Sacramento Tree Foundation.
The "City of Trees" appellation seems deserved in the capital.
As early as the Gold Rush of 1849, Sacramentans understood the importance of densely planting trees that could grow and eventually spread a leafy canopy over this summerscorched city.
The drive to create some natural cooling with trees was under way as early as 1853 when city ordinances directed the planting of willow trees on the levees, according to a history compiled by Greg McPherson. He's a researcher for the U.S. Forest Service and director of the Western Center for Urban Forest Research and Education at the University of California, Davis. The first public treeplanting campaign was launched in 1877 with the importing of 4,000 eucalyptus trees, McPherson writes.
City fathers found space for trees wherever they could - in parks, along streets, in backyards - creating a tree-loving legacy that continues to flourish. "The trees are what make Sacramento livable in the summertime," says Dan Pskowski, an arborist with the city of Sacramento's Urban Forest Services.
"I grew up somewhere else and I am still in awe of the number of trees here. I look at something new and different every day because of the amount and variety of trees in Sacramento."
The hundreds of varieties include camphor, Southern magnolia, Chinese hackberry, Japanese maple, American liquidambar, juniper, elm, ash, redwoods, blue spruce, European linden and Chinese pistache.
Perhaps the most notable are the native valley oaks that envelop McKinley Park and William Land Park, two of the shadiest parks in the city.
