Volunteers to Plant Trees Along Sheldon

As Mike Albanese moved from Santa Monica to Maine, then to Oklahoma, then Texas, something never changed--a barren section of Sheldon Street near his father’s home in Sun Valley.

And when Albanese himself moved to Sun Valley six years ago, that same stretch of Sheldon--now near his own home on Sharp Street--remained windy, hot in the summer, and all-around uninviting, he said.

The roadside is “just burnt ground,” said Albanese, 45. “I thought it’d look a lot prettier with some trees.”

This Saturday, Albanese and TreePeople, which plants trees across the Valley to spruce up communities, plan to place 50 California peppers along more than a half-mile of Sheldon Street between Arleta Avenue and Roscoe Boulevard.

Wide-open city and Department of Water and Power land borders the stretch of road, which links many Sun Valley residents to the Hollywood Freeway.

California peppers are particularly sturdy trees that resemble weeping willows, said Jim Summers, an urban forestry manager at TreePeople who helped Albanese organize the plantings.

“We rely completely on volunteers from the public,” Summers said. “Every single person we can round up will be welcome.”

Volunteers should meet at 8:45 a.m. at Sheldon Street and Arleta Avenue. A planting demonstration will take place at 9 a.m. Planting will proceed until noon, Summers said.

Summers encouraged volunteers to wear sturdy shoes and a hat. TreePeople will provide shovels and gloves.