First published in the April 21 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
I am writing to express my concern about the La Cañada Unified School District plans to remove up to 90 healthy, mature trees to make way for a parking lot at Palm Crest Elementary School. Although the need for more parking at this school is recognized, there are plenty of ways to achieve this goal without destroying these vital trees that provide so much benefit to our students and community.
The project plans at Palm Crest Elementary School call for the destruction of up to 90 majestic trees and replacing them with 36-inch box saplings. This is not a sufficient mitigation. The loss of even one mature tree will cause both temporary and permanent negative impacts on our community and our students. Even if the replacement saplings survive transplanting, it will take 50 years or more for them to reach maturity and provide the benefits that these mature trees currently provide including shade, oxygen and clean air.
California led the nation in tree loss not just in 2020 but over the last 10 years as well, the result of which has had devastating environmental impacts. With our forests being lost at an alarming rate, it is more important than ever to preserve every urban tree. Every city tree is invaluable to our well-being and to the well-being of our children, wildlife and the birds that depend on each of these trees to survive.
We are rapidly losing what makes our Tree City great, and we need to pay attention while we still have the chance. Please let’s adjust this development project to save these critically important trees while solving the Palm Crest Elementary School parking problem creatively.
Let’s work together!
Carolyn Dundee
La Cañada Flintridge
