Signature Trees

A tree is a great investment for our future. To highlight that notion, Arbor Day is celebrated throughout the nation and the world.

Each year for Arbor Day, San Francisco Public Works plants “signature trees” to honor community leaders, social change advocates, and local and global humanitarians who strengthened their community through public service, leadership and volunteerism.

Trees provide many benefits to the cities, including better air quality, thriving wildlife habitats, improved well-being, and a more sustainable environment.

Trees green our neighborhoods and parks, offer shade to our urban corridors, and provide tangible benefits to our environment and health.

Trees, wherever they are planted, are a source of joy and spiritual renewal.

The goal of dedicating a signature tree each year to a deserving honoree is to emphasize the importance of being involved in your community, and to underscore the idea that the smallest contribution can grow to be of tremendous value to a community and make a difference in the world.

For over ten years on Arbor Day, San Francisco Public Works has planted signature trees to honor these deserving recipients:

2019 Lawrence Ferlinghetti (video)

• Ferlinghetti played a prominent role in the literary renaissance of the 1950s. He was named San Francisco’s first Poet Laureate in 1998, a role he served in for two years. He co-founded City Lights in 1953 and the North Beach bookstore quickly became a cultural hub for poets, painters and social activists. Two years later, he launched City Lights Publishers, providing a new platform for poets to share their work.
• Olive tree, a symbol of peace and friendship, planted in front of 576 Union St., across from Via Ferlinghetti.

2018 Mayor Edwin M. Lee

• Lee worked tirelessly to champion civil rights, diversity, neighborhood livability and San Francisco’s standing as a Sanctuary City. He stabilized and grew the economy under his watch and added new housing. He served as San Francisco’s first Chinese-American mayor from Jan. 11, 2011 to December 12, 2017. He died of a heart attack with two years left on his term.
• St. Mary’s magnolia, located on Fulton Street, across from Civic Center Plaza.

2017 Rose Pak

• influential civic leader who devoted herself to serving the community.  She was instrumental in extending the Central Subway into Chinatown, advocating for more affordable housing, rebuilding and modernizing Chinese Hospital, enhancing economic vitality and preserving the rich culture and history of Chinatown
• Ginkgo biloba planted in St. Mary’s Square in Chinatown

2016 Irene Crescio and Dr. Espanola Jackson (two honorees)

Irene Crescio

• lifelong resident of the Portola District, tenacious neighborhood advocate; instrumental in the acclaimed Portola Garden Tour, building of a new branch library and efforts to beautify San Bruno Ave.
• drought-tolerant cork oak (Quercus suber) tree planted in the Mansell Street median, a gateway to the Portola neighborhood

Dr. Espanola Jackson

• longtime Bayview-Hunters Point resident; community activist with four decades of experience dealing with environmental, social and economic justice issue
• coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia)  tree planted in the Evans Avenue median

2015: Marian Brown

• San Francisco icon, twin sister of Vivian Brown; impeccably dressed twins, known for their matching outfits and sunny demeanor delighted residents and visitors alike as part of the City’s cultural landscape for over four decades
• California incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) planted next to the signature tree honoring her sister in a Sloat Boulevard greenspace

2014 Sandy Cuadra and Nelson Mandela (two honorees)

Sandra (Sandy) Cuadra

• longtime public works employee; lifelong Mission district resident and neighborhood icon
• strawberry tree (Arbutus marina) planted near a mural painted in her honor at 24th and Harrison

Nelson Mandela

• global advocate for human rights; anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist; former president of South Africa who championed freedom, equality and social justice
• coast live oak tree (Quercus agrifolia) planted at the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center, 1050 McAllister St.

2013: Vivian A. Brown

• San Francisco icon, twin sister of Marian Brown; the elder of the famed Brown twin sisters who together were a beloved San Francisco fixture
• California incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) planted next to the signature tree honoring her sister in a Sloat Boulevard greenspace

2012: Wangari Muta Maathai

• internationally renowned environmental advocate; winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize that recognizes grassroots environmental heroes; Nobel Peace Laureate and founder of the Green Belt Movement
• African Sumac (Rhus lancea) planted at Brotherhood Way open space.

2011: Charlie Starbuck

• longtime San Francisco Friends of the Urban Forest volunteer and tree-planter extraordinaire who has planted more than 7,000 trees citywide; author of 2004’s "Trees of San Francisco," the authoritative resource on the city's trees
• cork oak (Quercus suber) planted in the Geary Blvd. median. Charlie named the tree “Buffy” in honor of the Bureau of Urban Forestry.

2010: Dana Woldow

• healthy food advocate, active volunteer for Balboa High School; responsible for leading efforts with school leaders that removed junk food from the school, making school lunches more healthy and accessible for all students
• grove of fruit trees planted at Balboa High School including two Fuyu persimmons (Diospyros kaki ‘Fuyu), Orange quince, Smyrna quince (Cydonia oblonga) and red delicious apple trees (Malus domestica ‘Red delicious’) in honor of her healthy food initiatives

2009: Ellen Wolfe

• lifetime of dedication to children and the community, advocate for children's access to health care services; widely known and highly respected San Francisco registered nurse and doctor of Public Health for the City and County of San Francisco
• evergreen pear tree (Prunus kawakamii) planted in a greened median at South Van Ness and 12th St.

2008: Ruth Asawa

• community artist, sculptor; advocate for art education, especially for children; driving force behind the creation of the San Francisco School of the Arts, which in 2010 was renamed the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts
• flowering Cherry tree (Prunus yedoensis ‘Akebono’) on a newly greened median on Webster Street at Grove Street

2007: Cesar Chavez

• American farm worker, labor leader and civil rights activist, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962; dedicated his life to improving treatment, pay and working conditions for farm workers
• evergreen magnolia tree (Magnolia grandiflora ‘Samuel Sommers’) planted on a new traffic calming median on Cesar Chavez Street

2006: Rosa Parks

• civil rights activist, important symbol of modern civil rights movement; in 1955, she refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger, spurring the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott and other efforts to end segregation
• cork oak (Quercus suber) planted in the Van Ness Ave median at Jackson St.