Friday, April 24, is National Arbor Day and also the 100th birthday of Ramona’s colonnade. The colonnade, which currently consists of 209 trees along Main Street, has a love-hate relationship with the community. While many see the eucalyptus trees as messy fire starters, there are just as many who see the colonnade as a signature for the town that must be kept at all costs.
Arbor Day was conceived in the 1870s by Julius Sterling Morton, a Nebraska newspaper editor. Julius believed that planting trees would help beautify the state, provide shade and prevent soil erosion by creating windbreaks. It was later adapted as a national day of recognition on the fourth Friday of April. Now it’s true that our colonnade provides shade and creates a windbreak, but the eucalyptus also has a propensity for shedding branches as well as serving as bird sinks, luring species to nest in the lavish branches, then dropping the nests or allowing them to be shaken out by wind. In a 2002 article for Audubon Magazine, the writer Ted Williams describes the eucalyptus as a willful fire starter. “Living next to one of these trees is like living next to a fireworks factory staffed by chain-smokers,” he writes. Bird experts at the Point Reyes Observatory note a significant decrease in birdsong population due to the sticky gum which clogs their faces, bills and nares (nostrils).  But for all of the potential danger and other drawbacks, the approximate two-mile stretch has remained with most of its original integrity intact and with the Ramona Tree Trust firmly committed to the colonnade, any removal of the trees will be in for a fight. So as you drive down Main through the colonnade, appreciate the historical value, the beauty and the commitment of the many volunteers who tend to the trees, but keep your fingers crossed just in case a branch snaps.
And speaking of our environment, Earth Day was celebrated on Wednesday, so remember to reduce, reuse and recycle, and make every day a time where you act to protect our planet.

Jeff Mitchell