“Big Arbolitos”: Big Arbolitos, plywood trees shaped like giant climate-resilient air fresheners, pointed out the lack of trees and freeway exhaust at bus stops; Arbolitos included signs to demand more trees.
Giant tree installations reminiscent of air fresheners brightened a shadeless bus stop by the 10 freeway at City Terrace Drive and Herbert Avenue, inviting folks to imagine a different reality: pollution-free, with enough shade and plenty of fresh air.
Adopt-an-Arbolito
Good Mischief gave away Big Arbolitos to residents and stakeholders, providing a resource to provoke local conversations about urban tree canopy and advocate for more trees and cleaner air in City Terrace.
“Lost Trees, Phantom Shade”: There used to be more trees along City Terrace Drive. People miss them more when the temperature climbs. Rather than replacing trees or planting new ones, tree wells have been filled in all along City Terrace Drive.
This temporary public art installation co-opted the familiar practice of sidewalk chalk art to call attention to the empty tree wells paved over with asphalt rather than planted with trees. Sidewalk chalk art highlighted empty tree wells, envisioning a greener future; silhouettes of the lost trees’ shadows were accompanied by flyers for “Lost Trees” (reminiscent of Lost Pet signs) which boasted “Rewards” such as shade, cooler sidewalks, cleaner air, beauty, tranquility.
“City Terrace Love Notes: A Heartfelt Connection”
Through “City Terrace Love Notes,” Public Matters created a platform for VCT to connect with their neighbors over a shared love for their neighborhood. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, 375 residents of all ages composed heartfelt notes, which were proudly displayed on trees at Coyolxauhqui Plaza and along City Terrace Drive. Soonafter, VCT launched a messaging campaign to mobilize neighbors against a heavy polluter that brings 700 tons of trash and stench daily into the community, declaring that “Pollution is not an act of love.”
Let’s Plant A Visión for City Terrace! A Good Mischief Community Event June 22, 2024, Abe’s Market Parking Lot, 4004 City Terrace Drive
At the Let’s Plant A Visión public event, attendees engaged on multiple levels with VCT, USC Urban Trees Initiative, North East Trees, Artemisia Nursery, and Self Help Graphics & Art. VCT connected and reconnected with their neighbors, who expressed renewed energy to join VCT’s efforts. Numerous Big and Small Arbolitos found homes. The Tours underscored the environmental conditions on the ground, while The Smell Workshop, in partnership with The Institute for Art and Olfaction, evoked powerful, full-body, deeply memorable responses. Watching kids take swings at the towering 6-foot-plus Pollution Monster Piñatas was endearing, but it was the adults who truly drove the message home. The determination and catharsis everyone witnessed were poignant and awe-inspiring. The pent-up frustration, in some cases decades old, was palpable.