The Resilient Canopy
Ian Kesterson's curated-trees site selection process fosters investment from
residents; the complexity, excitement, and community collaboration behind
West Berkeley's Aquatic Park planting project; and how and why the "80%
Good" approach to growing the urban forest can yield better outcomes.
By Michelle Sutton, Editor, City Trees
City of Berkeley, California Urban Forester/Planting
Program Manager Ian Kesterson (MFI '22) uses his
background as a climbing arborist—and his passion for
translating academic research into action—to grow a
climate-resilient and adaptable urban forest. You can
find him biking around the low-canopy areas of West
Berkeley and stopping to talk to the neighbors; plan-
ning new planting projects; or walking his dog, Fiona,
around the city to visit their favorite old trees.
The Long, Thin Mile … of Beauty and Habitat Where it's Needed Most
In West Berkeley, the eight-lane Interstate 580
(I-580) runs roughly north-south just east of the
San Francisco Bay. Due east of I-580 is the City of
Berkeley's storied Aquatic Park, featuring a lagoon
used for recreation and wildlife habitat, and lagoon
shores planted with trees of varying maturity.
Between I-580 and the lagoon is a formerly weedy mile-
long (1.6-km-long) planting strip. In 2024, after several
years of research, dreaming, rigorous site assessment,
and community consultation, Ian Kesterson, planting
staff, and volunteers brought to fruition a really cool
project. First, contractors expanded the planting strip by
6 feet (1.8 m) in width to create a mile-long well from
which trees will eventually provide afternoon shade to
West Bolivar Drive—officially a frontage path for City
Park trucks, but mostly used by walkers and bikers.
"Cars are flying by about 15 feet (4.6 m) from the trees,
shrubs, perennials, and grasses we planted in the 1-mile
strip," Kesterson says. "The soil in the well is alka-
line and low in fertility, and soil volume is limited. The
strip is surrounded by heat-retaining surfaces. Heavy
winds and salt spray funnel through the Golden Gate
Bridge, pounding plants on this site and keeping trees
compact relative to their counterparts in other parts of
the city. There is a high likelihood of periodic flooding
on this site during storms from freeway water over-
loading its own drainage system. All that's to say, this
mile-long strip posed an exciting challenge!" >>
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