Instead of cutting and hauling a typical Christmas tree to your living room (you murderer), why not get a living tree to decorate with care for the holidays? San Francisco's Department of the Environment and Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) will offer just that with their "Dreaming of a Green Christmas" program. And after the holidays end, your tree will be planted as a neighborhood street tree.
According to the SF Department of Environment: "San Francisco’s urban forest needs all the help it can get. While San Francisco has about 110,000 “street” trees, we have room for about 100,000 more. Adding trees inside of parks, backyards, and other open areas, the total number of trees in San Francisco rises to approximately 670,000 trees. However, San Francisco has only 11.9% canopy coverage—Atlanta boasts 40 percent coverage and cities such as Chicago, Seattle, Boston and New York are in the neighborhood of 21 percent."
11.9% canopy coverage?! Not on our watch. (Psst, Stillman Street in SOMA could really use more trees.) And while real pine-fresh Christmas trees won't be used, you might get a loaner southern magnolia, small leaf tristania, strawberry tree, or New Zealand Christmas tree, which are just as nice.
To order your living tree, register here. Pick up your tree at the Green Christmas Tree Lot at 11 Grove Street on Sunday, December 4th from 10am-2pm, or at the FUF offices (1007 General Kennedy Avenue) from December 5th through December 20th.