City of Sacramento Urban Forestry Manager Joe Benassini is the recipient of a 2012 Arbor Day Award in honor of his outstanding contribution to tree planting, conservation and stewardship, the Arbor Day Foundation announced today.   Benassini is one of 16 individuals and organizations being recognized by the Foundation at the annual Arbor Day Awards. The ceremony will be held at Lied Lodge & Conference Center, located at Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, Nebraska, on Saturday, April 28. Benassini will receive a Champion of Trees Award in recognition of his leadership in advancing effective forestry public policy.   Under Benassini’s leadership, Sacramento developed a complete street tree a

The Sacramento City Council voted Tuesday to hire an outside contractor for tree pruning and removal work despite opposition from a major city union, Stationary Engineers Local 39. Council members voted 7-2 to pay up to $3.7 million to Roseville-based Jensen Tree Service, Inc., for a contract that could span five years. The contract has a one-year guarantee of work – after that, the city manager will decide each year over the following four years whether to continue the contract, according to Craig Lymus, the city’s acting procurement manager. A representative for Local 39, which represents urban forestry workers, among many other groups of city employees, said the work that Jensen Tree

Do you love trees? Do you want to volunteer to improve your neighborhood's tree canopy? You can play a key role in helping the Sacramento Tree Foundation educate neighbors about the multiple benefits of trees, tree planting, pruning basics, and tree care. Learn how increasing the urban tree canopy can improve our built environment, health and save energy. Join a series of classes to learn tree care, pruning, planting techniques and more from area professionals in a weekly series of hands on class activities, discussion and field trips presented by the Sacramento Tree Foundation’s new LEAF (Leading Education Awareness in Urban Forestry) Program. New classes start for 8 weeks on Tuesday eve