THOUSAND OAKS : City Plants More Trees Through $80,000 Federal Grant

The city of Thousand Oaks is getting a few more oaks thanks to a grant from the Small Business Administration.

Local landscaping companies last week put in 251 oaks as well as several eucalyptus, ash, California pepper and liquid amber trees at Los Robles golf course and on the sites of 12 water reservoirs, said Gary Kennaley, foreman of the city’s tree crew.

He said 60 more trees will be planted this week at the intersection of the Ventura and Moorpark freeways.

“We’ve always tried to reforest our city as much as possible,” Kennaley said.

An $80,000 federal grant from the Small Business Administration paid for the project, Councilman Frank Schillo said.

The project gives business to local landscapers and helps them gain experience planting trees, said Schillo, who chaired a city forestry committee.

Kennaley said oaks and California peppers don’t require much watering after the first two years of growth.

“The majority of our trees that go in are drought-resistant,” Kennaley said.

The golf course plantings are intended to fill voids where older oak trees had died and to shield the course from the freeway, Kennaley said.

Last winter, the city planted about 1,000 trees along several major avenues.

Schillo said the city also encourages residents to plant trees in the median strips between their sidewalks and curbs. The trees are free, and city crews will dig the holes. But residents must help with the planting and must agree to take care of the young trees until they are established.