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Who We Are
Born from the efforts of a teenager over 50 years ago, TreePeople inspires and supports the people of Southern California to come together to plant and care for trees, harvest the rain, and renew depleted landscapes. Through our unique model, we listen to, equip, and train volunteers to green our urban spaces and mountains. TreePeople has activated millions of people in planting and caring for millions of trees.
We work with both educators and students to train the next generation of eco-conscious leaders. We steward thousands of acres of land—maintaining habitats and protecting land from development. We develop original, actionable research that drives science-based policy. We train volunteers on the ground to help build a greener Southern California.
What We Do
Forestry
We restore ecosystems, plant trees, and incorporate nature-based solutions throughout our Southern California streets, mountains, and everywhere in between.
School Greening
We create green learning environments that enhance academic achievement, support health and well-being, and create safe places to play in nature. Through partnerships with school communities and districts, we advocate for, implement, and manage school greening projects to protect students from extreme heat, air pollution, and polluted water.
Education & Youth
We provide students, teachers, and the school community with the knowledge, tools, and support they need to create environmental change.
Coldwater Canyon Park
TreePeople’s 45-acre headquarters on Mulholland Drive in the Santa Monica Mountains offers nature trails, experiential education, and cultural programming and is home to TreePeople’s Native Plant Nursery.
TreePeople Land Trust
We steward more than 3,000 acres of land in the Santa Monica Mountains–protecting these spaces for the benefit of future generations. Programs include public recreation, environmental education, scientific research, and more.
Policy & Research
We conduct cutting-edge research and facilitate policies that support nature-based solutions.
Get Involved
Events at the Park
TreePeople events are where arts and activism converge in Southern California – creating a new space to explore the connections between creativity and the environment.
Native Plants E-Book
Our highly anticipated native plant guide, “Southern California Native Plants: A Starter Guide from TreePeople” is now available for free download! This beautifully illustrated e-book is chock-full of TreePeople’s favorite native plants and trees, garden planning tips, maintenance hints, planting requirements, and other helpful resources.
Shop
For nearly 50 years, TreePeople has planted over 3 million trees with 3 million volunteers across Southern California. Purchasing these products helps us plant and care for the next 3 million!
Tree Dedication Cards
Looking for a way to honor, celebrate, or memorialize a loved one? Purchase physical and virtual cards to send today! Each card supports TreePeople’s mission planting trees and restoring ecosystems, educating the next generation of environmentalists, and researching for our future.
Wildfire Resilience Fund
Wildfires are a natural part of California’s landscape, but their increasing intensity threatens our forests, communities, and green spaces. At TreePeople, we are dedicated to fire resilience, working to restore fire-scarred lands, prevent future devastation, and protect the biodiversity of Southern California. Yet, we can’t do it alone—we need your help.
Donate today to TreePeople’s Wildfire Resilience Fund and be a part of the solution.
Monthly Giving
Canopy funds will directly benefit our initiatives in urban and school greening for underserved communities, support our wildfire restoration initiatives, and allow us to provide environmental education to thousands of students each year.
Blog
How to Create a More Tree-Friendly City
Life in the big city is REALLY tough for trees. While trees in the wild often live 100 years or more, the average lifespan of an urban tree is just 19 to 28 years, according to the USDA. What accounts for this discrepancy? Well, many of our urban environments aren’t built for trees—they’re built for…
How to Help Care for Trees in Your Neighborhood
Here at TreePeople, we do a LOT of planting—in 2024 alone, we put more than 11,000 new trees in the ground! Expanding our urban canopy is critical to building climate resilience. But something that’s just as important is continuing to care for the canopy we have—especially the older, mature trees that make our neighborhoods shady,…
Sunflowers won’t save LA’s soil. Here’s what will.
As toxic ash carpeted many peoples’ yards during the recent LA wildfires, it highlighted an ongoing concern—the way our health is intricately connected with soil health. Contaminated soil is an important human health concern. People can be exposed when we accidentally eat or breathe in soil particles, and young children—who are especially vulnerable—can be exposed…
Soil contamination 101: understanding—and improving—our urban soil
The recent wildfires in Los Angeles sparked a lot of concern about soil contamination among the general public. They also—perhaps more importantly—exposed a long-standing problem: the serious lack of soil support resources available to most people, including urban soil education, soil testing, and soil remediation options. Despite the fact that people knowingly or unknowingly interact…