If you live in LA, there will be three important environmental bond measures on your ballot this election season: Prop 4, Prop 2, and local Measure US. While all of these bonds are a bit different, they have one important thing in common: they’ll support our mission to plant and care for more trees across Southern California.
If you want to help us increase urban shade canopy and air quality, restore native habitats, safeguard our waterways, and protect our students from extreme weather, we strongly urge you to vote YES on all three of these measures.
Here’s what you should know about them:
Prop 4: The Climate Bond
Prop 4 would invest $10 Billion in CA climate resilience programs, with 40% of the funding reserved for underserved, climate-vulnerable communities, in alignment with the federal Justice 40 initiative.
The majority of funds are dedicated to safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience, with significant funding for wildfire and forest resilience, protecting biodiversity and implementing nature-based climate solutions, clean air programs, and park creation and outdoor access.
A YES vote on Prop 4 would support these critical TreePeople programs:
Prop 2: The School Bond
This bond will create $10 billion for the construction and modernization of education facilities across CA. The $8.5 billion set aside for K-12 facilities can be used to build outdoor learning environments and nature-based landscapes, which will shade and protect students from extreme heat in a changing climate.
Our School Greening team is leading the charge on Green Schoolyards planning and implementation in Los Angeles County, with 10 school greening projects completed in 2023 and 28 school greening projects currently underway. However, there are 977 school districts in California, and the state school greening grant program needs more funding.
A YES vote on Prop 2 will bolster the school greening movement statewide and help TreePeople transform schoolyards for Southern California students who need access to shade and nature to thrive.
Local Measure US
Measure US would be the largest school bond in LAUSD history, dedicating $9 billion to school construction. It would also be the first LAUSD Bond measure to include a major investment in green schoolyards, with $1.25 billion set aside for green schoolyard transformations. These funds would create dynamic outdoor learning environments with green space and shade trees to protect students from extreme heat.
LAUSD is an invaluable partner in our School Greening work. The School Board’s Green Schools for All Resolution sets a target of 30% green space on all district campuses by 2035, and the recently released Green Schoolyards For All plan lays out an ambitious road map to get there. Our team is currently greening 14 LAUSD schoolyards, and there are hundreds more to go.
Vote YES on Measure US to advance the District’s school greening goals and transform learning spaces for generations of students.
Don’t forget to vote!
Election day is right around the corner, so make sure you have a plan to vote early or on November 5th!
Check out plan.lavote.gov to find all the info you need and make your voting plan today.
You can even choose to cast your vote here at TreePeople’s beautiful Coldwater Canyon Park—we’ll have a polling place open in our conference center.