Life in the big city isn’t so easy for trees—and helping our urban canopy thrive and grow takes a lot more planning, care, and resources than you might expect.

Here’s how TreePeople makes sure the trees we plant in our urban environment stay happy and healthy for years to come:

1. Trees need propagation

In the wild, trees usually grow from the seeds they drop naturally. But modern, urbanized landscapes make it far more challenging for young trees to thrive. Soil conditions are often far from ideal in these areas, and smaller trees run the risk of being mowed down, or trampled by pedestrians.

So that we can increase canopy cover as quickly as possible, cities usually require that we plant larger trees, transferred from 15 gallon containers. We source these trees from trusted nurseries across SoCal—assuring that even before a tree is put in the ground, it has a head-start in getting established.

2. Trees need resources

Once a tree is in the ground, the work is far from over—many other resources are necessary to support it until it’s established. We protect our trees with trunk guards to make saplings don’t get torn up by rodents or mowers and reinforce them with sturdy stakes to help them grow strong and tall.

A regular reapplication of mulch helps keep the soil below the tree healthy and moist. Weeding assures it isn’t competing for resources. And young trees also need to be provided with about 15 gallons of water on a regular basis, depending on their size.

3. Trees need people

Helping the trees we plant thrive doesn’t just take physical resources—it requires the vigilant work of TreePeople staff and volunteers.

Determining where trees can grow in the first place takes careful planning and selection. And once they’re in the ground, we work closely with community to share best care practices and maintain them for about 3 to 5 years, to make sure they can provide shade and other environmental benefits for generations to come.

4. Trees need YOU!

A young tree is an investment, and it takes years of care to for them to grow into the large, healthy, mature trees that sustain our urban and mountain ecosystems.

This commitment to after care is what sets TreePeople apart from many other planting initiatives. And we can only do it thanks the generous help of our donors and volunteers! If you want to help us plant and care for more trees, consider joining The Canopy, TreePeople’s monthly giving program.

These regular donations not only help us pay for tree planting and care, they allow us to continue a wide variety of other environmental initiatives—including school greening projects, wildfire restoration efforts, and environmental education programs.