Gene Hyde inspects and talks about planting trees near marked gas lines in the Murray Hills Walking Track park near Highway 58.The temperature is dropping and the wind is whipping small raindrops through the air, but Gene Hyde doesn’t seem to notice.
He’s focused on the tiny yellow and pink flags that outline where a gas line runs beneath a walking trail in the Murray Hills neighborhood off Highway 58.
He points to a series of white slats of wood that show where his crews have planted what will grow into a dozen magnolias and cherry trees.
The plantings are small now, but Hyde is a patient man.
For 26 years, he has worked as the city’s urban forester, and he has slowly seen his plantings grow into full-fledged trees, shading city streets and soaking up stormwater and pollution.