Growing the Grassroots: Urban Forestry

Five years of drought has ravaged our urban forests and surrounding mountains. We’ve seen hundreds of millions of trees die in the Sierras and a massive hit delivered to our park and street trees– leaving our most vulnerable and differently-abled communities at the mercy of the sweltering heat.

This year, TreePeople will move forward on two major community greening initiatives – one in the Northeast San Fernando Valley and one in South LA.

With the Green Streets – Calles Verdes Project in the City of San Fernando, our goal is to create a “cool city” model to benefit one of LA’s most heat-impacted communities. The project will dovetail with the City’s Safe Routes to Schools Program to help grow healthy communities by encouraging walking, biking and public transportation.

Get involved with TreePeople as we create beautiful tree-lined, garden-filled green corridors through the city streets with the power to lift spirits, improve public health and attract investment in local businesses and jobs.

Green Streets – Calles Verdes will be a real grassroots effort, designed to mobilize the local community to shape the future of their city. Come be a part of the magic as we convert concrete to canopy – one tree, one person, one block at a time.

 

Thanks to the generous support of funders like Telemundo/NBC and the Dorrance Family Foundation, TreePeople has secured initial funding to invest in a 5-year project to expand urban canopy to help Huntington Park fight climate change and protect public health!

The best part? We’ve hired youth interns from Huntington Park to help us scale community-based social marketing survey results we’ve collected to empower residents with the knowledge and facts they need to keep their trees alive in an ever-changing climate.

Stay tuned in for more Community Greening News from TreePeople and be part of the change. Sign up for a volunteer event today!

By Rachel Malarich

Originally from the Bay Area, Rachel Malarich grew up planting and caring for trees in her parents’ backyard. As one of TreePeople’s Regional Managers, Rachel helps coordinate our work in Compton and the surrounding areas, doing outreach, educating community members, and helping Green Teams plan their school and community greening projects. Rachel enjoys good food, music, and time with her family.