CommuniTREE

November 14, 2023 Looking for the perfect gift for the environmental enthusiast in your life? Give them the gift of a greener Earth (and some cool merch) with TreePeople’s holiday gift guide! For the one who has everything: Tree Dedications are symbolic gifts that grow! Donations given through Tree Dedications support our mountain forest restoration and urban greening work throughout Southern California. There’s no better way to honor a loved one while creating lasting change! Tree Dedications include your choice of a digital or mailed (100% recycled paper!) Tree Dedication Card and feature our lovely TreePeople art. Both card options are a great way to let someone know you are thinking of them while supporting our tree planting efforts all year long. TreePeople Tip: These also make great bulk company gifts! For the one who loves a good project: Our Native Garden Kits help you plot out 100 sq feet of a native garden! Each kit includes a set of 10 native plants specially curated to enhance the beauty and sustainability of the recipient’s garden (plus installation guides and educational materials!). All plants are sourced from local nurseries and help to reduce water usage and beautify the urban environment. They’re perfect for advanced and new gardeners alike! TreePeople Tip: Gift a Native Garden Kit to a family — they can enjoy a fun activity together while learning about native plants! For the one who’s always cozy: What’s better than a comfy new shirt? A comfy new shirt that helps plant trees! Tree planting season is usually cooler, so we made sure to include plenty of long sleeve and sweatshirt options. And if accessories are more your style, we have some snazzy dad hats and totes for you too. TreePeople Tip: Our merch is made on demand to reduce overproduction so order early to make sure you receive it in time for the holidays! From tree dedications to merch, buying a gift from TreePeople helps us to take action for our environment by planting and caring for trees in forests, mountains, parks, and our neighborhoods.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced that applications are being accepted for urban and community forestry projects through the federal Inflation Reduction Act funding opportunity. A total of $12.9 million is available. The funding will “increase equitable access to healthy trees and green spaces in urban and community forests to support building a clean energy economy, advance environmental justice, and create economic opportunity,” a DEC press release said. Applicants may apply for funding under two categories, Community Forest Management Plan Implementation ($10 million) and Ash Tree Management ($2.9 million). The maximum request is $500,000 per application and no match is required, according to the DEC. All projects must take place in disadvantaged communities as identified by any of three Federal and State tools listed in the Request for Applications (RFA). The deadline to submit applications is Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 Source - https://poststar.com/news/local/funding-for-urban-forestry-available/article_341f3bc8-7a5c-11ee-8a77-8f407524b55c.html

Climate change. Environmental injustice. Vulnerable communities. Unprecedented catastrophes. Threatened ecosystems. The world is facing mounting challenges that are threatening our very survival — challenges that can feel overwhelming. These issues seem big because they are big. But we must remember that each individual act can make a difference. And when we work collectively, we have the power to clear any obstacle in our way. All we need is a starting point. The easiest and most efficient place to begin to course-correct is with trees. Lots and lots of trees. We’ve introduced one of the most ambitious efforts to target forests and neighborhoods where trees will do the most good. TREES, NOW MORE THAN EVER. Taken at face value it seems like an overly simple notion that trees and forests can help us solve some of the biggest problems we're currently up against. What most people don’t realize is that trees perform a multitude of tasks that benefit every single living thing on our planet. From standing tall on the frontlines of climate change pulling carbon from the air, to cooling our cities, to providing a home for 80 percent of all land-based animals, plants and insects, people and the planet need trees and forests now more than ever. As the world alarmingly edges its way closer to the climate ledge, trees and forests remain the most affordable, scalable nature-based solution available today. This call for more trees isn’t just coming from us. A representative with the United Nations said, “an investment in forests is investing in our future." An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report found that restoring forests could play an outsized role in the solution to curb greenhouse gas emissions. LEADING THE CHARGE, STARTING A MOVEMENT. Our planet needs influential organizations to step up and accelerate the impact trees and forests can have around the world. Thanks to our global network of partners and supporters, we’re positioned to lead the way. We’ve set a goal to help us—all of us—meet the moment, by planting 500 million trees, with a focus on forests and neighborhoods of greatest need by 2027. WHY 500 MILLION? We know that the number of trees we’ve set out to plant is substantial. In fact, it’s one that holds significance for us as that’s about how many trees we've planted in our first fifty years. But it’s not the full story. What the number represents is how we, as a foundation, are challenging ourselves to go farther and push harder than we ever have before. We recognize the urgency to act, and act quickly, in a meaningful way. The emphasis on an acceleration of our work also reinforces the need for planting trees over the next few years to make inroads against climate change. HOW THIS GOAL IS DIFFERENT It’s always been about planting the right tree in the right place in the right soil at the right time. Never has that practice been more urgent than at this very moment. This level of focus, detail, and determination on where trees get planted are thanks to a combination of tools, technology, data, and a vast network of tree-planting partners. The influx of science-based information is designed to help us target areas around the world where trees will have the biggest impact. To ensure these 500 million trees are working as hard as they possibly can for the planet, we set two targets to guide our tree-planting: FORESTS 90 percent of our reforestation work will be in forests of greatest need around the world. We reference a priority index that provides a balanced, rich data set to help identify the forests where the benefits of trees can be maximized. NEIGHBORHOODS We will inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees in 90 percent of underserved and low-canopy neighborhoods. We utilize a variety of information sets to locate those neighborhoods, notably the NatureQuant NatureScore Priority Index. Though we’ve set in motion the momentum to make a dent in the global crisis, the real impact will grow when we all work together. When organizations from various industries and people from all walks of life make it a priority to join the tree-planting movement that has the potential to reshape our planet and set it on the right trajectory for future generations. The moment is now. The movement is here. Let’s plant 500 million trees together.

One might assume everybody has access to trees, greenspace, and nature regardless of race, color, or creed. But dig a little closer and another story emerges. Pull up any satellite map of most urban areas of the United States and it will yield a patchwork of green hues prominent in some locations, hard to find in others. Too often, it’s people of color living in these neighborhoods with less access to greenspaces and nature. This nature disparity can have further dire consequences beyond access to nature’s benefits. Climate change, for example, is creating worsening challenges for everyone, yet its impacts are felt disproportionately by those least equipped to face them. Nature-poor neighborhoods and climate inequities are nothing new. The disparity goes back generations as historic discrimination in urban areas has negatively impacted the social, economic, and wellness outcomes of their residents. Community leaders and policymakers are putting more effort and resources towards correcting environmental injustices. Included in these discussions are how a tree can be a difference-maker, helping to alleviate the environmental injustices overlooked for far too long. Our unmatched network of partners is helping to meet this moment and work with neighborhoods in need using a simple solution from nature itself: Trees. THE POWER OF TREES IN NEIGHBORHOODS Trees do so much for the people nearby. Living in proximity to trees improves physical health and mental well-being. Numerous studies show trees make people more physically active and even prevent respiratory ailments like asthma. They may also make people happier and less depressed. These natural landmarks give personality to neighborhoods, act as gathering spaces to strengthen connections among neighbors and reduce crime, littering, and vandalism. Trees improve the lives of the people they surround and help turn a collection of residences into a connected, more vibrant neighborhood. And too many areas, for far too long, have gone without the benefits of trees. HOW TREES PLAY A ROLE IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE Environmental justice is the fair and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development and implementation of environmental laws, regulations, and policies that impact lives. It can help counteract injustices that are all too familiar in underserved communities, including polluted local water sources or positioning neighborhoods near hazardous waste sites. We believe a tree can be a solution for some of the environmental challenges historically disadvantaged communities face today. In the context of tree planting, pursuing environmental justice means it's no longer enough for tree planting organizations to simply select low-and moderate-income neighborhoods when determining where trees are needed most. It is necessary to do more while letting the community leaders themselves lead the way. ALIGNING TREE PLANTINGS WITH TENETS OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE To ensure tree planting efforts are implemented equitably and aligned with the tenets of environmental justice, it’s imperative to follow a few best practices: Leverage multiple data points beyond income level when choosing where to plant, taking other key socio-economic, environmental, and historical factors into consideration. Partner with local organizations made up of neighborhood residents to ensure tree plantings take place when, where, and how the immediate community members prefer. Consult with community leaders to determine what type of project (planting, distribution, community engagement, etc.) will best serve the area. ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION’S APPROACH TO ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE TREE PLANTINGS At the Arbor Day Foundation, environmental justice tree-planting projects start with data and information from cities and technology partners to locate and prioritize low-canopy neighborhoods. This data-driven approach is important to maximize the impact of each tree planted in neighborhoods of greatest need, but it is only the first step. The Arbor Day Foundation and its unmatched network of local partners around the United States then seeks to listen to those in the community. Building meaningful relationships with community members, volunteers, and residents where projects may occur helps to understand what goals they have for their neighborhoods. It’s one thing to locate a neighborhood that is underserved or historically disadvantaged, but it takes relationships and trust to maximize the impact of these vital tree-planting efforts and build healthier, more resilient communities. Every neighborhood has its own unique set of challenges and obstacles to overcome. We believe everyone deserves to live near and benefit from trees. Environmental justice is a key part of the organization’s focus on planting in neighborhoods where trees are needed most. The organization recently committed to plant 500 million trees with a focus on forests and neighborhoods of greatest need. To learn more about the Foundation's goal, visit arborday.org/atreecanbe.

Planting 500 million trees in five years is a big job. For the Arbor Day Foundation, it wouldn’t be possible without a vast network of global tree planting organizations, our portfolio of individual and corporate supporters, and more than 50 years of know-how in creating impact with trees. As we look ahead to the next 50 years, we’re continuing to innovate how we apply intelligent, data-informed strategy to our work. It starts with our goal to plant 90 percent of reforestation trees (think majestic forests, as opposed to city trees) in forests of greatest need. How do we find those places? We look at the data. The Foundation references a priority index to identify forests on the frontlines of our planet’s most dire issues: climate change, community livelihood, and biodiversity collapse. Think of it as a formula that guides us to where trees can do the most good, based on: Impact on climate change Benefits to indigenous and community lands Biodiversity improvement potential (like restoring habitats for endangered species) Next, we see whether an area of greatest need is also home to a planting partner of ours, with shovels ready to go. With those two layers of data points applied, we have a clear picture of where we can make the biggest impact, the soonest. Because while reforestation takes time to do right, our planet needs trees now. With a global network as large as ours, we’re more than ready for the challenge. WHY THIS APPROACH MATTERS It’s a well-rounded method that factors for the many benefits of trees. Because planting is never just about the tree—we must consider the ripple effect every tree creates. We measure biodiversity potential because trees provide habitats for creatures and critters. We know trees absorb a lot of carbon, so we also measure that potential, too. We also need to respect indigenous land rights, so we do our best to understand where those boundaries begin. It places a high value on people. We account for how trees would affect people in a particular area. Again, it’s never just about the tree. It makes us good stewards of supporters’ funding Just as you’d trust a financial advisor to put your money in the best-performing fund possible, we want to “invest” donations in the most impactful projects. The Foundation is uniquely equipped to deliver focus and scale in tree planting: we know where we can do it, and we can handle some of the largest projects happening globally. Learn more about our goal to plant 90 percent of trees in forests of greatest need.

Submitted by Sarah Halonen on October 18, 2023 Supporting pollinators through native gardening is a climate action we can all get behind! Through a two-part workshop series led by Lorraine Johnson and Sheila Colla, LEAF volunteer garden stewards learned strategies to build more resilient pollinator gardens. Read more on how you can incorporate these approaches into growing your own pollinator garden. In the face of climate change, many of us wonder what actions we can take to combat its effects. The simple act of creating a native garden that puts biodiversity and pollinators first can bring us one step closer to a healthier and more climate resilient urban forest ecosystem. Lorraine teaches us some practical identification skills to help us gain a better understanding of native plant species. © 2023 Sarah Halonen / LEAF With the guidance of Lorraine Johnson and Sheila Colla, co-authors of A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee, the garden stewards were reminded of the important role our Urban Forest Demonstration Gardens (UFDG) play in helping pollinators and combating climate change. These biodiverse native gardens work to support the natural relationships between co-evolved native species such as the cranesbill miner bee (Andrena distans) and wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), building a stronger web of connections that are essential in helping an ecosystem adapt to climate change. Our UFDGs are a natural climate solution! There are over 800 species of native bees in Canada. Dr Sheila Colla introduces us to a few specimens from her collection. © 2023 Sarah Halonen / LEAF Pollinators contribute greatly to the biodiversity in our urban forest, which in turn contributes to its resiliency. A central theme emerged throughout our workshop series: How can we as garden stewards best support pollinators through our native gardening practices and create resilient ecosystems? Sheila shares the benefits of planting native goldenrods - more than 35 species of bees are specialist feeders on goldenrod pollen. © 2023 Sarah Halonen / LEAF We encourage you to take on this simple climate action and grow a native garden for pollinators! Here are some strategies the garden stewards took away from their workshop experience: Focus on plant species native to your region (refer to A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee for suggested species native to the Ontario and Great Lakes region) Don’t use pesticides! Instead, attract beneficial predatory bugs to your garden with native plants. Plant a variety of flowering species, ensuring blooms from spring to fall. Leave dead and hollow stems for cavity-nesting bees throughout the year. Include rotting logs and piles of sticks and brush in out of the way spots in your garden to provide nesting habitat and shelter for a wide variety of pollinators. Leave some bare ground for ground-nesting bees to create their subterranean tunnels. Embrace the mess! Avoid cleaning up dead leaves and standing plant stalks as these provide essential shelter and overwintering habitat and cover underground nesting chambers. By applying these strategies, you can actively nurture a greener, more resilient future for our urban forest and the vital pollinators that call them home. And if you want to take part in supporting a LEAF garden, you can learn more about our UFDGs and how you can join our garden stewards team! Sarah Halonen is the Stewardship Coordinator at LEAF. Our Urban Forest Demonstration Gardens are supported by the Ontario Power Generation, Toronto Transit Commission and the City of Toronto through Live Green Toronto and the PollinateTO Grants Program.

TreePeople, a leading environmental nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a sustainable future for Southern California, celebrates the life and remarkable achievements of CEO Cindy Montañez who passed away on Saturday, October 21, 2023. Since assuming her role in 2016, Montañez’s unwavering dedication, innovative vision, and commitment to environmental sustainability have driven TreePeople’s extraordinary growth and impact. Montañez leaves an indelible mark on the organization’s mission and impact—building the success it enjoys today. “Cindy loved TreePeople and she made sure that TreePeople would be in good hands at the time of her passing, and we are in good hands with co-Executive Directors Daniel Berger and Robyn Rehak. Cindy inspired us all,” said Chairman of TreePeople’s Board Philip Boesch. Montañez brought a strong environmental justice focus to TreePeople, improving communities around Los Angeles that had historically low tree canopy coverage through increased tree plantings and workforce development. These tree planting and care programs now take place in 15 different regions of Southern California, including the Inland Empire and South Los Angeles, where over 4,000 people take part in planting over 2,000 trees each year that improve the health and beauty of these communities. TreePeople also distributes over 3,000 trees to residents each year. Learn more about TreePeople’s community forestry projects here. Under Montañez’s visionary leadership, TreePeople has experienced tremendous growth in personnel, revenue and impact. TreePeople’s workforce has nearly tripled, growing from approximately 40 employees to over 125, with ongoing recruitment efforts to support its expanding mission. In tandem, TreePeople’s revenue has seen a remarkable increase, soaring from $4.5 million in 2016 to approximately $14.5 million today. TreePeople’s workforce development program began in 2021 to provide environmental career experience and training for youth and young adults from underserved communities where green jobs typically aren’t easily accessible. As part of the effort, TreePeople recently introduced the Cindy Montañez Young Leaders Program, which includes paid internships and apprenticeships for young people focused on green workforce experience in forestry and wetlands conservation. Expanding programs to green schools and educating youth were also a key focus of Montañez. With a recent award of $15.6 million from the state, TreePeople will transform 17 LA County schools by removing nearly 500,000 sq. ft. of asphalt and creating vibrant learning gardens and natural spaces. With these funds, TreePeople will also be creating plans to green 6 Burbank Unified Schools, which desperately need the natural spaces. TreePeople’s Outdoor Equity initiative connects youth and their families with local natural and wildland areas through hands-on learning experiences. This initiative builds on TreePeople’s popular Eco-Tours and school outreach programs, which have reached more than 150,000 students under Montañez’s leadership. TreePeople’s mountain forestry restoration projects have also significantly scaled up under Montañez: hosting over 3,000 volunteers and planting over 15,000 trees each year in the Angeles National Forest and other natural areas. As Montañez envisioned, TreePeople has become a key partner to the national and state forest services in preserving and restoring vital forests and conducting research initiatives as part of its ongoing commitment to forest restoration. In 2019, with Montañez’s encouragement, TreePeople also became a major trustee of some of Southern California’s most critical natural lands when it acquired the Mountains Restoration Trust, which now operates as TreePeople Land Trust. The Trust has stewardship over 3,000 acres of land in the Santa Monica Mountains near Calabasas, keeping one of the most biologically diverse areas of the coastal mountains in its natural state. Montañez’s dream was to share TreePeople’s model worldwide as the natural solution for climate change; she herself carried that message in 2021 to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. “Everyone loves trees, whether they know it or not,” Montañez would say. She stressed that, “Trees are a-political. Everyone can get behind planting trees.” Montañez has received many honors of late including the naming of January 19th, her birthday, as Cindy Montañez Day in the State of California. The beautiful Pacoima Wash Natural Park, a park that Montañez championed into existence, is now the Cindy Montañez Natural Park. With her affinity for monarch butterflies, the Cindy Montañez Pollinator Garden was planted and dedicated in September at TreePeople’s headquarters at Coldwater Canyon Park. Montañez loved how, like her, the butterflies were bi-cultural—making journeys across the US and Mexico border. “I want people to think of their loved ones when they think of la monarca, and if I am so lucky to be one of them, to think of me,” said Montañez. We invite all to visit and share in the beauty of the space where Montañez left such a tremendous mark. In Montañez’s honor, The Cindy Montañez Legacy Fund at TreePeople is a place for all those who have been inspired by Montañez to make a donation in her name. All funds received will go directly towards the Cindy Montañez Young Leaders Program and the Cindy Montañez Pollinator Garden. Click here to learn more and donate. We will carry Cindy with us into the greener future that she worked to establish.

Nice @Brendan - who's linkedin profile is this from?

These would be so cool on shirts!

The application portal for Tree City USA is now open and available. Applications are due Dec. 31. You will notice some changes to the recognition portal this year. These instructions will help you log in for the first time. We hope you join us again this year in continuing our strong commitment to growing and maintaining a healthy tree canopy across Wisconsin. If you’re new to Tree City USA, you can learn more about the program on the Arbor Day Foundation’s website and from your DNR Urban Forestry Coordinator. If you’ve been a Tree City USA for at least one year, you may want to see whether you’re eligible for a Growth Award. The Growth Award is presented by the Arbor Day Foundation to participating Tree City USA communities that demonstrate higher levels of tree care and community engagement during the calendar year. Communities need to earn at least ten points in any of the following five categories: Building the Team, Measuring Trees & Forests, Planning the Work, Performing the Work and The Community Framework. Review the point system to see if you’re eligible this year and talk to your Urban Forestry Coordinator if you have any questions. Continue reading “Tree City USA Application Portal Now Open” →

Thanks for sharing @troyruiz1!

October 18, 2023 Only feet away from Interstate 5–where hundreds of thousands of vehicles roll down the freeway every day–a team of TreePeople staff and volunteers assembled at Pacoima Middle School on Saturday, October 14th to bring dozens of new trees and much needed green space to the campus. As the temperatures soared to over 90 degrees, concrete was removed and shovels cracked through the dirt to plant a shadier, cooler future for the school’s students. It wasn’t long before a barricade of green could be seen between the playground and the highway. The trees our volunteers planted at Pacoima Middle School will do more than just bring shade to the playground. They’ll help shield from the grinding noise of traffic. They’ll help facilitate a better learning environment. They’ll help filter pollutants. They’ll help capture water from storms. They’ll help not only students but the surrounding community as well. As the final tree made its home in the ground, across the field families were gathered on the campus for youth soccer games—an important reminder of the need for expanding community green space throughout Southern California. This isn’t the end for TreePeople and Pacoima Middle School. Later this year we’ll be tearing up more concrete and making room for a brand new learning garden that will be at the heart of the campus. These gardens will create opportunities for expanded experiential learning and natural space for students to connect to the outdoor world and recharge. This work would not be possible if not for our thousands of volunteers and our donors who help us create a greener, healthier, more equitable Southern California. To be a part of TreePeople and our mission visit treepeople.org/canopy, where for less than a dollar a day you can help support this vital work and make a lasting impact across Southern California.

Helping a community taking root in Upstate South Carolina When you talk to the people of Upstate South Carolina, they talk about the area’s history. The history of mill towns that had to grow, innovate, and change as the textile industry moved out of town. While certain areas found new ways to thrive, others haven’t always received the same amount of investment and opportunities. In the city of Greer, a 14-acre trailer park had fallen into deep disrepair, and developers were looking to buy the plot to overhaul it into new developments. While this type of investment can sometimes breathe new life into communities, it also has the potential to repeat an all-too-familiar story. One where long-time residents are slowly but surely priced out of their neighborhoods through the steady march of gentrification. However, with the foresight and community-centered work of the Greenville County Redevelopment Authority (GCRA), this plot of land was redeveloped to tell a different story. In partnership with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and with contributions from other grants, GCRA got to work on major infrastructure repairs and projects. The result of this overhaul was a neighborhood of new homes built for seniors and low- to moderate-income families. And in 2008, Creekside Community welcomed its first homeowners. The development features tidy streets of new homes set into a gently rolling expanse of lawns. Thanks to these grants, the cost of the infrastructure improvements was not passed along to the new homeowners. However, the investment in the new neighborhood did not cover trees. More than a decade after the first families moved in, Creekside was still lacking trees to root residents in their community. “Trees tell stories for people,” said Julian Nixon, Director for Diversity and Inclusion at the College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Life Sciences at Clemson University. “They make a space intimate, which makes it more of a home. So that's that connection of a tree with people in their homes.” A TREE CAN BE A STAKE IN THE GROUND Through an environmental justice grant from the Arbor Day Foundation, the organization TreesUpstate personally reached out to households in the Creekside Community to understand their questions and concerns about trees. Then, they equipped residents with young trees to grow in their yards. “Trees are important, especially in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods,” said Evangeline Costa, Outreach and Engagement Manager for TreesUpstate. “Those are the communities that are often left out. They're often missing trees. … And typically, they're lacking services. So, for us to work in a community to bring in trees, it's creating tree equity. It's bringing fairness across the board to a community.” The initiative culminated in a tree-planting event during which more than 200 volunteers planted 128 trees in the neighborhood. Working together, families and volunteers dug holes, rooted trees, and claimed a slice of their community. In Creekside Community that day, every tree symbolized something much greater than the sapling put in the ground. For homeowners, it represented claiming a place to call their own.

Explore the stunning photography that earned top honors in this year’s Forests in Focus photo contest. Read about how American Forests’ efforts to measure the carbon storage potential of forests are informing states’ management practices. And, take a look at a new mural in Houston, the first U.S. installment in a series that will draw attention to Tree Equity and the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. AF-Summer2023_spreads_LowRes.pdf