200 Volunteers, 57 Trees and a Hopeful Future

“One tree is magic when you have none, two trees are hope when you have one, and three trees are a forest for learning, healing, and dreams.” Rosa Furumoto, Parent Pioneers

Last month, TreePeople, along with our passionate partners at Parent Pioneers, transformed the campus of San Fernando Elementary School. Our team went in and removed 1,284 sq ft of asphalt to make room for 57 new trees to shade the schoolyard and protect kids from rising heat. Over a span of a few weekends, and with the help of 200 dedicated volunteers, the elementary school students now have a safer space to play and learn!… Read more >>

LA Teens Face Off at Streets to Sea

LA’s water pollution doesn’t stand a chance against our youth.

This spring, our Generation Earth program hosted the yearly Streets to the Sea Challenge. The projects presented inspired and taught us all so much.

What is Streets to the Sea, you ask?

Each year, Generation Earth asks middle and high school students from all over Los Angeles County to create campaigns to educate their peers about water pollution and how to take actions to protect local water supplies on their campuses and in surrounding communities.… Read more >>

The Strength a Tree Gave a Family Battling Cancer

Tyson was only 7 years old when he and his father Rick planted their first tree together. That was also when Tyson was diagnosed with cancer. Rick’s connection to nature, and to that tree they planted, gave him strength throughout the tough years ahead.

Nature is Rick’s refuge, his place to reboot, which is why he spends every weekend hiking the Santa Monica Mountains. He and a close friend spend entire days “lost” in Malibu Creek State Park, taking pictures of flowers, identifying plants and exploring new trails.… Read more >>

4 Gardening Tips to Fight Runoff

Water is precious.

Especially as temperatures rise and the rainy season takes a vacation. Often in the grips of the summer heat, people will douse their lawns with their sprinklers causing “dry-weather runoff” to rush onto the pavement, into the street sweeping up pollutants along the way, into stormdrains to be dumped in the ocean.

Want to learn how you can make a difference? Follow these climate-ready solutions to keep any runoff out of the street and help water your plants and trees all summer long instead.… Read more >>

LA’s Drought Conundrum

So the drought is over, right?
The short answer is well, maybe.

As the summer season swings into action and temperatures start to rise, it’s the perfect time to remember that as Angelenos, we all have the responsibility to act as stewards for our water and urban trees — even during a record-wet year like this one.

Whether or not we are “in drought” depends not only on the amount of rain we receive but also on temperature — as Peter Gleick, one of the brilliant minds at the Pacific Institute in Oakland has noted.… Read more >>

Re-Igniting the Teaching and Protective Power of Earth Day:

Just 3 months after the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, I took my first steps on the path to found TreePeople. I was 15, and what I learned was captivating and urgent.

I’d experienced years of air pollution burning my lungs, growing up in Los Angeles; but it was at an Earth Day “Teach-In” that I learned about pollution’s impact on my health, and how We The People, could enact laws to clean up the air and protect ourselves, our families and our community.  … Read more >>

I Am TreePeople: Paola Barcaccia

TreePeople is filled with amazing volunteers, but every so often, one of them shines bright against the crowd. That’s why we’re so grateful to have had the opportunity to sit down with one of our star community members, Paola Baraccia before she left the TreePeople family to move back home to Italy.

What do you do?

I teach Italian since I am originally from Italy for my day job. For fun, I enjoy spending my time outdoors and volunteering here at TreePeople.… Read more >>