Beauty, Quality of Life Aim for Tree Planters

Neighborhoods off Balsam Avenue and East Street will be transformed Saturday with the planting of 100 trees by more than 300 volunteers.

ReLeaf Anaheim, a nonprofit group dedicated to planting, preserving and promoting trees in the city, will sponsor the community event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The aim is to beautify the area and improve the quality of life, said Jaide, program coordinator.

“We want to renew our neighborhoods and bring a sense of community,” she said. “We say, ‘To plant a tree is to plant hope.’ ”

Since 1991, ReLeaf Anaheim has planted about 2,500 trees. The goal is to plant 20,000 by the turn of the century.

Trees are provided by the California Department of Forestry, and the city helps pay for supplies, Jaide said.

Among the volunteers Saturday will be college, high school and elementary school students, residents, police officers as well as other supporters of ReLeaf Anaheim.

Anyone interested in helping to plant trees will be welcomed, organizers said.

Trees will be planted in the Balsam Avenue apartment neighborhood, west of East Street between La Palma Avenue and the Riverside Freeway. The city recently targeted that area for renovation.

Jaide said that volunteers will also plant 100 bougainvillea along the fence in that area to “create a garden color between the neighborhood and the county flood control channel and to discourage people from hanging out.”

A barbecue will follow the tree planting. Information: (714) 254-6916.