Willow Glen Resident
News
Life will be made in the shade for San Jose Day Nursery kids
By Laura Rheinheimer
It's a sad thing to lose a tree, but the children of the San Jose Day Nursery Child Development Center won't have to mourn for long.
After a pear tree that was a central part of the children's play area died, a local business stepped up with a replacement.
Bartlett Tree Experts is sharing its own success--100 years in business--by planting a more suitable tree at the center in the children's play area.
The child development center and Bartlett will hold a tree planting ceremony on Aug. 8 from 9 to 11 a.m., with the help of the children.
"Our playground is right downtown, and trees provide wonderful comfort," said Pat Calfee, a Willow Glen resident who started volunteering at the nursery in 1962.
Calfee is the day nursery's board president. Along with an army of volunteers, she helps run the annual home tour in Willow Glen, the day nursery's major fundraiser. Last year the event brought in $50,000, 62.5 percent of the day nursery's $800,000 budget.
The tree, a crape myrtle, will be planted in the play yard, and will provide essential shade for the children to better enjoy the hot summer days. Unlike the ornamental pear tree it is replacing, the new tree won't outgrow the space, is less susceptible to disease and won't be treated with chemicals. The tree will also serve as a valuable teaching tool about nature, with its flowers attracting birds and butterflies.
"They can watch it grow from a small nursery tree to a large mature tree," said Hanae Sakurai Cowley, arborist for the Los Gatos branch of Bartlett Tree Experts. Bartlett also volunteers its landscaping and tree trimming services to the center.
The tree planting is one event in a string of efforts to sustain the nursery. The 91-year-old nursery, which serves low-income families, relies on local businesses and individuals for assistance, said John Carsen, the director for the day nursery.
"This is another gesture on [Bartlett's] part saying they support us," Carsen said.
