Rashad Osborn and his crew recently responded to the 900 block of 32nd Street on a report of two plum trees uprooted by the recent storms.

Osborn, a Richmond native who now serves his fellow citizens as a groundskeeper and gardener for the City of Richmond, is part of a small but mighty three-member crew tasked with clearing hazards in cases of trees downed by unrelenting winter storms.

City of Richmond Maintenance leader Gregory Everett said that as of March 24 the City of Richmond Park and Landscape Division Tree Crew has cleared 37 fallen trees or branches out of 62 that were identified as needing to be addressed amid the ongoing storms.

Everett noted his department is responsible for some 60,000 trees in the city.

“We have worked days and weeks in a row without much rest because of the dangers these uprooted or downed trees present to the community and property along the streets and sidewalks,” Osborn said.

Once cut down, the Richmond tree crew feeds the limbs of an uprooted plum tree into a woodchipper. Photo by Mike Kinney

On 32nd Street, the crew chain-sawed the plum trees and placed them into a large woodchipper, where they will no longer be a hazard on the sidewalk or street.

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Osborn says the trio are committed to ensuring residents can move about the city safely.

“We will make sure that all these trees are cleared and make the streets and sidewalks safe for everyone,” he said.

To report a hazard related to a city-planted tree on city property, call (510) 231-3075.

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