VEP planted 40 trees at Branham-Narvaez

-Dave Fadness, Project Coordinator

On Saturday, January 20, fifty-five eager volunteers turned-out to install an extensive irrigation system in the vacant, city-owned parcel at the corner of Branham Lane and Narvaez Avenue. That was the first in a successful, two-weekend beautification project aimed at planting trees on the 1/3-acre lot.

Despite a downpour of rain that turned the parcel into ankle-deep mud, sixty-seven brave souls showed up on the gloomy morning of January 27. They planted 32 trees and spread a veritable mountain of reddened wood chip mulch 4-inches deep over the entire lot. Another eight trees were planted along the ped/bike path across the street, replacing those that have died over recent years.

The results were beautiful and very satisfying—a long-held dream come true! Everyone left that afternoon with a well-deserved sense of pride for a job well done.

Organized by VEP, this project obviously aroused the popular support of neighbors, young and old, who were tired of the weed- and litter-strewn moonscape. Houses across the adjacent court had for years been blasted by dust and debris as prevailing winds whisked unimpeded across the barren dirt. Time was ripe, so when we distributed flyers and emails to neighboring residents, the results were predictable: people turned out, eager to get the job done.

VEP lobbied for more than ten years get permission to do this job. Our volunteers landscaped a median island across the street four years ago. It was clear then that neighbors were eager to make the entire intersection more attractive—it’s a major portal into our community. The city explored all potential alternative uses before giving the go-ahead to proceed on the vacant lot.

City Arborist, Ralph Mize selected appropriate tree species and prepared a site design. With the help of Maintenance Manager Tom Ferguson, the San Jose Department of Transportation (DOT) had water service installed, a key to the potential success of this effort. DOT’s Greg Shultz and Jimmy Silva offered expert advice on VEP’s irrigation plans. VEP applied for and won a $1959 grant from San Jose Beautiful, which covered the cost for irrigation hardware.

Non-profit Our City Forest (OCF) donated the 40 trees, tree stakes, and expert guidance by Arborist Christian Bonner. OCF also sent volunteer Tree Amigos, Anthony Nispel, Franci Card, and Jeffrey Powers to supervise and assist with planting the trees. Gunderson High School Principal Cary Catching and Activities Director Trish Buttrill helped recruit student volunteers.

Browning-Ferris Industries donated 162-cubic yards of Pro-Chip mulch, enough to cover the entire parcel four inches deep. A-Rental owner and VEP member, Fred Koslowski provided trenching equipment and a skilled operator, Jeff Godley who made the job of installing 960-feet of water lines possible for us, despite rock-hard soil conditions. Davidson Drilling augured holes for planting the trees.

Starbucks Coffee (on Capitol Expressway at Timberloop Drive) twice donated coffee and condiments. Muffin Break (Oakridge Mall) donated delicious muffins. VEP members popped for lunch and other refreshments to sustain a thirsty and hungry volunteer workforce.

We’re grateful for advance press coverage by the Blossom Valley Times which was a powerful benefit in alerting and reminding those who would volunteer to help.

This truly was a community project, as it involved a public-private partnership of dedicated neighborhood volunteers, a fine local non-profit, city government and its employees, and the unselfish generosity of local businesses.

These community-minded people volunteered:
Kamlesh Amin
Marylou Avanzino
Sharon Benitez (Santa Teresa High School)
Christian Bonner (Our City Forest)
Cindy Bosworth
Bob Capitolo
Franci Card (Our City Forest)
Alan & Ginger Cardona
Art Cervantes
Art Cervantes, Jr.
Joyce Chesnos
Dale Crandall (Pinehurst Residents’ Association)
Janet Darrow (Pinehurst Residents’ Association)
Phil, Kathy, Tristan, & Allison Davis
Franklin Duenas (Pioneer High School)
David & Aiko Fadness
Pierre Feghali
Brian Ferry
Emily Ferry (Castillero Middle School)
Ian Ferry (Gunderson High School)
Matthew Ferry (Pioneer High School)
Amie Fong (Gunderson High School)
Mary Garnica
David Gulizia
Marietta Harris
Phil Hennessy
Stevan Huynh
Jim Hicks
Antonio Ibarra
John Jackson (Gunderson High School)
Scott Johnson
Dick & Cheryl Juarez
Ganesh Karishna
Inderjit Kaur (Gunderson High School)
Terry Kelly
Frank Kistler
Henry Lee (Gunderson High School)
Larry Lee, Lilia Yon, Kiana, & Alexandra Lee
John Marks
Dena Merritt (Gunderson High School)
Steve Mitchell
Masim Mohajeri (Gunderson High School)
Jasmin Moreno (John Muir Middle School)
Thuong Nguyen (Gunderson High School)
Tuan Nguyen (Gunderson High School)
Paul Nichols
Arti, Sathya, & Vivek Nigam
Anthony Nispel (Our City Forest)
Dennis Nitschke
Dave Noel
Bob & Francine Olsen
Linda Owens
Michael Osborn (Gunderson High School)
Arlene Peterson
Laura Peterson
David Phan (Gunderson High School)
Jeffrey Powers (Our City Forest)
Alex Puentes (Gunderson High School)
Irma Puentes
Matthew Puentes
Deepika Sharad (Gunderson High School)
Dave Sheldon
Larry & Cheri Silveira
Michael Strauss
Josie Supencheck
Yodit Tesfay (Gunderson High School)
Joe Tajnai
Lien Tran
Minh Tran
Ngu Tran (Gunderson High School)
Stephanie Trujillo (Gunderson High School)
Steve Van De Pitte
Linh Vo (Gunderson High School)
Robb & Kit Whitney
Mario Zapata
Jennifer Zhong (Gunderson High School)

Although every one of these people contributed mightily to the success of this project, there are several superstars that deserve special mention because they worked there frequently during days before and after our designated weekend workdays: Jim Hicks, Frank Kistler, Dennis Nitschke, and Bob Olsen. Hats off to these incredible volunteers!