Her Goal Is to Bring Green to Urban Scenes
Nothing signals the end of the holidays more poignantly than the sight of Christmas trees lying on their sides next to recycling bins and garbage cans. What bothers Gail Lippner is that she can’t drag every one of those discarded trees into the back of her truck for replanting in the asphalt playgrounds and bare median strips along the city’s boulevards.
It’s no accident that Lippner, 47, is the ultimate tree-lover. Raised on a San Fernando Valley property filled with fruit trees, grapevines and vegetable gardens, the retired telephone company clerk can’t spend enough time adding a touch of color to areas of town that have been stripped of verdancy.
“Over the last 10 years I’ve planted thousands of trees with the organizations I volunteer for,” Lippner said. “I don’t understand people who say they’re bored. I only wish I had more time to improve our urban environment.”
She needn’t apologize. The tireless volunteer already divides her time between the TreePeople--for whom she has planted countless trees around the city--and New Horizons, the North Hills organization that provides job training and employment opportunities to the developmentally disabled.
In between, Lippner collects and refurbishes old wheelchairs for Wheels for Humanity, and her weekends are spent with the Graffiti Busters who sweep up street trash, pull weeds from sidewalks and paint over graffiti.
“Gail’s remarkable,” said the TreePeople’s urban forestry manager Jim Summers. “She takes on the hugest projects that take months to plan, and pulls them off beautifully. After each one she says it’s the last, but the next day she’s planning the next one.”
Lippner would be hard-pressed to match the project she tackled last spring. After securing a $10,000 state grant to plant 94 magnolia trees along a one-mile median on Woodman Avenue in Panorama City, she organized more than 100 volunteers from schools, New Horizons, the Boy Scouts and Indian Guides to do the planting. The Los Angeles Conservation Corps donated shovels and other tools, and Kaiser Permanente Medical Center provided lunches.
“It took nine months of preparation and was completed in two days,” Lippner said. “Every time I drive by there, I feel good. I can see the results of all the work.”
Lippner, who has lived with her husband, Phil, in Panorama City for 18 years, began gardening at a young age in her Van Nuys backyard. After graduating in 1969 from Van Nuys High School, she went to work for Pacific Bell, from which she retired two years ago.
Combining her love of animals and horticulture, Lippner spent nine years as a volunteer at the Wildlife Waystation in Angeles National Forest, where she landscaped 160 acres, often with trees donated by the TreePeople, with whom she’s been associated nearly full-time for two years.
The recipient of a 1997 Share-the-Care award--sponsored by Northridge Fashion Center, the Los Angeles Times and the Daily News--Lippner was honored in December for her volunteer efforts.
Those who have worked with her over the years applaud the recognition she is receiving.
“Gail has absolutely no ego issues. She just warms the area she’s working in,” said New Horizon volunteer coordinator Yasmina Dimitrov. “She pours her heart into what she believes in. We feel very fortunate to have her.”