Urban Heat in L.A.

Another scorching L.A. Summer has come and gone, full of triple-digit heat waves and a city full of overheated Angelenos. 

This is something we’ve all become accustomed to, so it’s easy to forget the fact that the frequency of these hot days is a small piece of a large new normal that our city is facing as a result of man-made climate change.

For example, L.A. is even hotter than the desert surrounding it as a result of the urban heat island effect, which is a product of the sun being absorbed by so many square miles of concrete, rooftops, and other exposed urban surfaces.… Read more >>

TreePeople Educator Joins Hal Eisner to Discuss the Amazon and Climate Change

Fires have always had a healthy place in ecosystems across the planet; they occur naturally in a process that ultimately creates more life in the long run.

But today, in the era of climate change, our relationship with and understanding of fire is changing. Now that more and more devastation is caused by humans, we have to recognize our role in these processes which can become harmful. 

December 2017 Fire Aftermath

The Amazon Rainforest is considered “the lungs of the earth” and the “heart pump of our global weather system” – it’s the world’s largest carbon dioxide sink, capturing up to 25% of the world’s CO2.… Read more >>

Appreciation for our Volunteers!

Here at TreePeople, August is Volunteer Appreciation Month.

Our work, at the end of the day, begins and ends with the people that support trees. One of the key groups of people doing that are our INCREDIBLE volunteers who take the time out of their days (usually weekends!) to help the world around them out of the goodness of their hearts. 

Our volunteers come in all shapes and sizes: 

Some of them are kids:

Mother's Day Tree Care at Woodbridge Park

Some of them are scouts:

TreePeople Forest Restoration at San Francisquito Canyon

Some of them are students

Water Talks in Huntington Park

Some of them have been on TV:

San Francisquito Canyon Restoration

Some of them volunteer with their whole families:

Mother's Day Tree Care at Woodbridge Park

Some of them need a little extra help:

Mother's Day Tree Care at Woodbridge Park

Some of them are called “Mayor Eric Garcetti” (well, ONE of them is):

Watts Rising Press Conference

Some of them join us in the mountains:

Calabasas Tree Care

Some of them join us at schools:

Vena Elementary School Tree Planting

And some of them join us in the streets:

Van Nuys Citizen Forester Planting

No matter who they are, where they came from, where they’ve joined us, or how they helped out, we are so endlessly grateful for every single volunteer who has worked with us! … Read more >>

To Andy, From Cindy

Many of us know how it feels to have an irrepressible urge to do good but not know exactly what to do with that energy. With all of the challenges our world faces — from social inequity to climate change — how do we make sure our actions bring about the most good? How do we know whether the ways we choose to spend our limited time, our precious energy, and our hard-earned dollars will leave the world a better place?… Read more >>

Trees, People, and Pups!

Happy National Dog Day! 

Here at TreePeople, you’ll often hear us say: Trees need people, and people need trees. But people aren’t the only ones who need trees – our furry friends do as well! Especially in this summer heat, a shady tree is much appreciated. Urban trees can cool a city by up to 10 degrees F, which can really make a difference when a dog’s paw is directly on the ground.

Did you know that you can dedicate trees to your furry friends?… Read more >>

Wildland Restoration: Our Work in San Francisquito Canyon

Since March 2018, TreePeople has been restoring a fire-damaged area of San Francisquito Canyon in the Angeles National Forest. The work is funded by a grant administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, from the money awarded to the USDA following the lawsuit brought against the construction companies responsible for the 2002 Copper Fire.

The work started by the removal of many invasive plants which had taken over several areas adjacent to a creek feeding into the Santa Clara River.… Read more >>

Empowering Teachers to Empower Students

On July 24 & 25, 2019 TreePeople held a super fun and successful two-day Professional Development workshop for Los Angeles County Middle and High School teachers interested in engaging their students to be an active part of the solution to environmental issues through hands-on service learning projects.

Through Los Angeles County Public Works Generation Earth program, TreePeople is able to offer teachers expert topic information, project ideas, resources, and toolkits that will guide teachers to implementing a campus or community eco-project from A – Z.… Read more >>

Good for the Environment: Inside and Out

It is one thing to talk your talk, it is another to walk your walk! In a unique partnership, BIO-K+, an international, family-run biotech company that specializes in the research, manufacturing and marketing of their Bio-K+ probiotics, is working together with TreePeople to take care of our environment – inside and out! 

With a goal to include their greater customer base, Bio-K+ is currently sponsoring four mountain restoration events in 2019 that not only brings their own employees out into the wildlands, but shares the experience by inviting employees of the stores that carry their product.  Participants, coming as far as Claremont, Valencia and Ventura have joined us in the Santa Monica Mountains for a morning of fun and good outdoor work.… Read more >>

Rotted in the Roots: Phytophthora 101

TreePeople’s gorgeous nursery is pristine. Its manager, Jack Smith, runs a tight ship in order to keep the plants inside safe and protected.  Those who enter must pass through a massive enclosure and wash their shoes in order to even go near the plants. This keeps deer, many herbivorous insects, and plant pathogens like Phytophthora from causing harm to our saplings.

Phytophthora (pronounced Fie-TOF-ther-uh) literally translates from Greek to “plant destroyer,” so we have good reason to do what we can to keep it out of the nursery.… Read more >>

Tips to Share with Your Gardener

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As your garden evolves from a typical lawn-centered landscape to one that is more sustainable and appropriate to our southern California climate, it is important that the maintenance of your yard shifts to accommodate the new landscape.  Sometimes this involves working with your gardener to better understand the needs of your garden.

Some helpful tips to consider:

1) Adjust Your Maintenance Schedule

The shift toward a more climate-appropriate garden encourages a shift in how to schedule gardener maintenance visits. Water-saving gardens don’t require quick, weekly maintenance, but rather more intensive maintenance on a monthly basis.… Read more >>