Planting Seeds of Patriotism : Environment: Organization founded by a Simi Valley woman has grown thousands of trees in honor of the U.S. military.

Nearly four years ago, as the United States entered the Persian Gulf War, Mary C. McCurdy prayed that her Army Reserve son would not be called for service.

Still, she wanted to show her immense gratitude for those who did go into battle.

“I just thought, ‘My goodness, look at all these people who are going off to fight for our country,’ ” she said. “I wanted to do something that would be a lasting tribute.”

With the help of a small group of friends in Simi Valley, McCurdy launched the Freedom Tree Organization, an ambitious project dedicated to planting half a million trees around the world.

“I started off in my mind thinking 50,000 trees,” she recalled. “But somehow when it came out of my mouth it grew to 500,000.”

Though McCurdy’s son was never called for service in the Gulf, Freedom Tree has remained committed to planting.

With the help of government grants, private donations and proceeds from the sale of Seeds for Freedom packets, the group has planted about 26,000 trees in schoolyards, parks and walkways in six states and as many countries.

At that rate, the group won’t reach its goal for another 72 years.

No matter, says McCurdy, 52, a native of Colombia who moved to California in the 1960s. The point is to keep planting trees and increasing awareness of the battles fought by U. S. soldiers.

To reach that end, the group has established a number of programs under the Freedom Tree umbrella.

These include Freedom Tree Groves, Avenues of Freedom and Seeds for Freedom. Each packet, sold for a dollar, holds at least five seeds. Plaques honoring the military are often placed in the groves of trees the group plants. The group also hopes eventually to open a Freedom Tree park and museum in Ventura County.

“What we want is to have a place where people can come and learn about the history of their country, about the battles and those who fought them,” McCurdy said. “This is one of our biggest goals.”

McCurdy’s Oxnard home, in a harbor-front gated community, is a shrine to Freedom Tree. In the front doorway stands a large Freedom Tree flag, modeled after an American flag with four cookie cutter trees stitched over a white stripe.

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McCurdy works as a business development consultant for a cable company, but her home reflects her extensive volunteer work for Freedom Tree.

The walls are covered with plaques and certificates from Freedom Tree fans, among them the Los Angeles Police Department, the Army Reserve and former President Ronald Reagan. “I have a thousand more,” McCurdy said.

Even McCurdy’s brown BMW does not escape mention of the military. “The few, the proud, the Marines” boasts a baseball cap perched in her rear window. And packets of Freedom Tree seeds litter the front seat.

“Here,” she said, scooping up a handful of seed packets. “Take some and plant them. Spread the dream and carry it forward.”

McCurdy first pitched her tree-planting plan to the Rancho Simi Recreation and Parks District.

“I was standing up there at the meeting, telling them about all the beautiful trees they could have, and just like that they said, ‘Yes, go ahead and do it, we will help you,’ ” McCurdy said. “I was so surprised I almost fainted right then.”

Don Hunt, assistant park planner, said the district welcomed McCurdy’s proposal, but was skeptical about its scope.

“Obviously we were supportive of a project of that type,” Hunt said. “We thought it was a pretty big undertaking, so we suggested that we start on a small scale, then move beyond that.”

The park district helped win federal grants of nearly $150,000. The funds were used to plant about 2,000 trees throughout the city’s parks and along the Arroyo Simi.

In 1992, the group won a $100,000 federal grant to provide urban forestry training for 39 Los Angeles residents affected by the riots that year. Those residents then helped plant 3,000 trees around Los Angeles.

Freedom Tree has also received grants to plant trees in 22 U. S. cities and in Guam, Hong Kong, Kenya, Uganda and Kuwait.

Freedom Tree has worked closely with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to secure loans and plant trees. Chief of staff Don Banghart praised the group for its message.

“There are lots of other groups out there planting trees, but Freedom Tree is a unique group because of their goal of honoring the military,” Banghart said. “They have a vision that really seems to inspire people.”

In Simi Valley alone, the group has planted thousands of trees.

At Atherwood Elementary School, students have planted oak, mulberry and sycamore trees at the school with the help of the organization. “It is educational and ecologically sound,” Principal Beverly Radloff said. “It’s such a nice idea.”

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Richard Schwalbenberg, general manager for the Clarion Hotel in Simi Valley, manages the group’s finances. The annual budget of the volunteer-driven organization varies, depending on the number and scope of projects in the works, Schwalbenberg said.

“We could be dealing with $50,000 or several hundred thousand dollars in any given year based on the programs we’re involved with,” he said. “The bottom line is that the group is planting trees and doing something for the military.”

On a recent windy afternoon, McCurdy visited a stand of trees her group planted near the 18th hole of the Sea Bee Golf Course at the U. S. Naval Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme.

Lt. Steve G. Kramer, who helped plant the trees, accompanied McCurdy, righting several eucalyptus saplings that had doubled over in the strong winds.

“We picked trees that were drought resistant and would do well in salty soil,” Kramer said. “It’s a great feeling to know these trees that are so small now are going to grow and be here for a long, long time.”