Eagle Scout & Gold Award Projects

Are you a Life Scout on your way to becoming an Eagle Scout? Or a Girl Scout ready to earn your Gold Award?

TreePeople can help! We support Scouts like you to organize tree plantings in Los Angeles. Taking on a leadership role in the process does more than help you climb the ranks of the Scouts. It’s also a fun way to help create a green future for our city.

How it works

Organizing a tree planting is a 2-3-month process, so you’ll have to get going well in advance of your 18th birthday. The bulk of the work will be done in the month prior to the planting day. The basic steps:

1. You become a Citizen Forester

As the Scout leading the project, you and one of your parents are required to attend a free Citizen Forester Training at a Community Greening Workshop hosted by TreePeople before the planting. The trainings occur every two months. You will, in essence, be the “event planner” and this training will give you crucial information and all the tools to make the planting event a huge success.

2. You form a "Green Team"

TreePeople will serve as a support for the planting, but you will be in charge. It is required that a few troop members are recruited as a “Green Team” to support you. They will need to attend our free Planting Supervisor training/Tree Care Coordinator training. These trainings are offered at the same time as the Citizen Forester Training and will ensure there is enough supervision on the day of the planting.

3. A planting location is chosen

Once you have attended the Citizen Forester training, a date and location for your planting are determined. TreePeople’s planting season is mid-October to early May. 

All Scout tree plantings take place in city parks as a part of the Million Trees LA initiative and, therefore, require no permits. TreePeople works in partnership with the Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks to decide which park needs trees and what kind of trees will work best.

4. You attend one of our tree plantings

To help you prepare, you are required to attend at least one TreePeople tree planting before your event. We have plantings nearly every weekend (except in the summer).

5. You develop a tree care plan

Post-planting tree care will be essential in order for your trees to survive the environmental conditions in L.A. You will be required to create a Tree Care plan to ensure the trees receive the periodic care they need for at least one year after they're planted. The plan must be developed before your planting.

6. You host your planting event

TreePeople provides tools, mulch, trees and support staff for the planting. You will need to recruit volunteers – your troop mates, family members and friends. You will also need to secure donations to provide food, water, and minor materials for the event. We can offer some suggestions for where to seek donations.

Sound good?

Then...

1. Email Julie Prejean at jprejean@treepeople.org to let her know that you want to begin the process.
2. Start thinking about a date for your planting and potential parks in your area.
3. Consult our calendar to find the next Community Greening Workshop, where the Citizen Forester, Planting Supervisor and Tree Care Coordinator trainings are held.

To register for the Community Greening Workshop, email Linda Eremita at trainings@treepeople.org (you must pre-register because they do fill up).