About

In early 2013, a small group of Claremont residents formed an ad hoc group (“Protect Claremont Trees”) to oppose the City of Claremont’s plans to maintain hardscape in The Club neighborhood by removing mature trees in a manner not consistent with the City’s Tree Policy Guidelines.

Having prevailed when the matter came before the City Council on March 26, 2013, the group turned its attention to how such incidents might be avoided in the future — not just in The Club neighborhood, but citywide. They also came to understand that while the City was committed to “protect, improve and expand our urban forest,” as stated in the Sustainable City Plan, appropriate policies, practices, knowledge and communications resources were not in place to accomplish those stated goals.

In Spring 2014, the group and its founders the late Michael Heilpern and his wife Linda chose to combine its efforts as a working group within Sustainable Claremont http://sustainableclaremont.org/.

Now as the Tree Action Group (TAG) of Sustainable Claremont, members pursue the following objectives:

To Learn … To become more knowledgeable about trees, their planting, maintenance and importance to the local ecology, and to identify the best knowledge resources regarding these topics.

To Educate … To develop educational programs and materials for Claremont residents, including homeowners, renters, leaders of businesses and institutions, teachers and children,

To Organize … To identify other Claremont residents, community groups and institutions who care about the health of Claremont’s trees and provide opportunities for them to work together. To provide resources and support to residents throughout the City who are concerned about the trees in their neighborhoods.

To Influence … To monitor the policies and practices of the City of Claremont and other organizations that maintain significant numbers of trees, such as the Claremont Colleges and various homeowners associations, and to engage in constructive dialog with these organizations in order to develop and implement better policies, practices and planning for the current and future health of our urban forest.