Visit L.A.’s first Tree Campus USA, December 16

Did you know the male gingko tree sprouts smelly fruit? Learn all about it and much more on our next Branching Out Community Tree Walk, as we comb the grounds of Los Angeles Valley College—the first college or university in the Los Angeles area to be recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree Campus USA.

TreePeople’s free Community Tree Walks are a great way to meet like-minded people, get some light exercise, and become familiar with the urban forest in your neighborhood. On this walk, we’ll get to admire the 30 new trees LAVC was awarded by the Arbor Day Foundation. TreePeople loaned tools for the planting, and two members of the campus Tree Care Troop, organized by Emelie Traub, also went through TreePeople’s Citizen Arborist training to act as resources for their campus and their communities.

The Tree Campus USA program honors campuses for promoting healthy urban forest management as well as engaging the campus community in environmental stewardship. Weekly maintenance is administered by the motivated, passionate people who work to keep LAVC green. Traub says her team now recognizes when a tree is in distress and needs care. “My members see the trees differently,” she notes. “This is all thanks to TreePeople’s Tree Care Workshop that led to our planting.”

Come see for yourself why the Arbor Day Foundation pronounced LAVC a Tree Campus USA.

RSVP online.

By Mollie Stephens

Mollie Stephens came to TreePeople as a transplant from Maryland, missing the sprawling forests of the East Coast. Getting her hands dirty with TreePeople convinced her that she could make Los Angeles her new home, and her passion is matching volunteers with experiences that will connect them with their community. When she's not digging in the dirt, she enjoys cooking, reading and kayaking.