By Gus Saltonstall

Upper West Sider Teressa Valla is an artist. She has also done her part to beautify a neighborhood block with an often-overlooked streetscape component.

Tree guards.

Valla has designed and created more than 15 tree guards on West 78th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues. She creates the guards through the use of recycled plastic, high density polyethylene, and then comes up with designs that reflect the patterns in the architecture on the block to “create visual harmony and interest.”

Valla told West Side Rag about the inspiration for her tree guard creations. “Why wouldn’t we care for our blocks?” she said. “When we walk out of where we live — brownstones, condos, apartments, etc. — and step into a shared natural world, we can collectively enhance the quality of lives for the community with relatively simple steps.”

From a practical standpoint, Valla added that the guards expand the soil bed for trees, provide more space for mulch and nourishment, protect against strong winds, and reduce the risk of uprooting young or newly planted trees.

Valla’s tree guards are installed farther away from the street curbs to ensure fewer impacts from car doors, plows, and sanitation trucks

She also makes sure the tree guards are protected against the ones that use them the most.

Dogs.

Dogs can try to discolor the deep-black, high-density polyethylene when they do their ‘business,’ [but] the material does not discolor or have to be repainted as is the case with wrought iron tree guards and fences.

Valla is a professional visual artist who specializes in painting, sculpture, and photography, but wanted to create the tree guards as a gift to her Upper West Side community.

“Planting flowers, disposing trash in receptacles, curbing dogs, and literally washing the sidewalk in front of your building are services to the community at large,” Valla told West Side Rag. “I have talked to many people while walking on their way to the American Museum of Natural History, and they remark on the beauty of our block.”

Valla worked with neighbors and the West 78th Street Museum Block Association to raise funds and organize the installation of the tree guards with the city. The tree guards were built and installed by a company, aptly named, City Tree Guards.

The longtime Upper West Sider first moved to the neighborhood to be near Central Park, and for her love of nature and trees.

“Creating public art is in the spirit of the Upper West Side. The history of the West Side had groups of artists, so the project is in that spirit,” Valla said.

You can check out more of Valla’s artwork on her website.

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