This month, Mayor Eric Garcetti proposed a comprehensive, multifaceted sustainability plan for the City of Los Angeles. The plan (pLAn) includes a wide span of measurable actions the City hopes to reach by 2035 with a special focus on the environment with an emphasis on water, solar energy, carbon and climate change leadership and waste; economic development to support local green jobs, mobility and transit; and equity for LA’s urban ecosystem, livable neighborhoods, air quality and environmental justice.

TreePeople proudly supports the pLAn and congratulates the Mayor in this big step forward for a sustainable Los Angeles. TreePeople is already deeply embedded at the community and policy levels and proudly offers to work with city agencies, local businesses and community organizations to help achieve and accelerate the pLAn’s vision by committing to the following:

• Engage and support Angelenos to create:
  • Robust tree canopy focused in the most heat vulnerable communities to lower peak urban temperatures by at least 4 degrees (F).
  • 50% minimum locally sourced water particularly through the implementation of DWP’s Stormwater Capture Master Plan.
  • Healthy soil (moisture storing, CO2 fixing soils, sufficient to support the tree canopy and local food production).

• Partnership with key agencies such as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Bureau of Sanitation and LA County Flood Control District to build the nation’s first smart water grid consisting of networked rainwater cisterns and transformed landscapes to capture stormwater and dramatically reduce water use.
• Provide full access to TreeMapLA  (treemapLA.com), to use and enhance as the go-to registry tool for the City’s trees, canopy and rainwater harvesting.
• Support of the Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance to engage people in neighborhoods across LA to adopt sustainable practices in their homes, neighborhoods, parks and schools and support the advocacy needed to make our City more resilient.
• Recruit, train and support volunteers from across Los Angeles to participate in tree planting and care, and support communities to adopt and implement sustainable solutions.
• Expand and enhance educational programs and services in schools and communities to inspire, inform and engage participation in the people of LA.
• Make available to Los Angeles, TreePeople’s Sustainability Co-Investment modeling tool to help facilitate cost effective investments in programs and green infrastructure.

TreePeople congratulates the Mayor’s office for facilitating commitments from key city agencies to achieve metrics and targets essential to move the city toward sustainability and climate-resilience.

“We celebrate Mayor Garcetti and his pLAn’s commitments and recognize that the goals can be enhanced and achieved even sooner if the whole community engages in implementing actions and behavior changes where Angelenos live, work, learn and play, “ said Andy Lipkis, TreePeople’s Founder and President.

He went on to share, “TreePeople stands ready to provide support on many levels, including its education and Citizen Forestry programs and volunteer coordination, technology, inter-agency facilitation, and logistical support.”

TreePeople, a 41-year-old nonprofit organization, thrives in its mission to inspire, engage, and support the people of Los Angeles to take responsibility and participate in the vision of a safe, healthy, fun and sustainable city.