Trees are often touted for providing shade, cleaning our air and capturing the rain, but did you know trees also are living anti-depressants? Recent studies show that trees make city-dwellers happier, healthier and more connected to their communities. Just a few of the reasons you should hug a tree today. The Mind-Body-Tree Connection Now that more than…
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Skip the Artificial Turf: The Value of Native Plants and the Truth About Fake Grass
March 25, 2015For decades Angelenos have maintained an image of the perfect suburban yard. We imagine homes with neatly trimmed hedges, colorful flower beds beneath the windows and a lush, green, well-manicured lawn rolling right up to the front door. The perpetuation of this image has skewed our sense of natural beauty. Not only is that ideal simply not sustainable in…
Cómo Colocar la Pedacería Orgánica (Mulch)
March 20, 2015La gente necesita árboles y los árboles necesitan la gente. Una vez que el árbol esta sembrado, todavía necesita su ayuda para crecer fuerte y sano. Cubriendo el área alrededor del árbol con un grueso manto de abono (rallado o corturas de madera) ayuda crear un ambiente saludable en la tierra, que es vital para…
School and Community Rally to Replace Playground Asphalt with 30 New Shade Trees
March 20, 2015On Saturday, March 14, 20th Street Elementary School’s campus, located just south of downtown Los Angeles’ Fashion District, was transformed. Over 100 volunteers, TreePeople staff and partners came together and planted 30 Raywood Ash, Australian Willow and Crape Myrtle trees on a formerly bleak asphalt schoolyard. Despite the heat, the day was electric with excitement for the…
Happy World Water Day, LA – There’s Hope Yet
March 18, 2015Water scarcity is certainly a worldwide issue, but we in LA know the seriousness of it. Did you know that California has only about one year of water supply left in its reservoirs? The good news is that our city is getting serious about creating a local, reliable water supply – and TreePeople is helping…
7 Reasons to Volunteer In the Angeles National Forest
March 13, 2015Only a massive effort by TreePeople volunteers makes it possible to replant and restore the fire-damaged areas of the Angeles National Forest. 1. You’ll help restore the forest’s pristine beauty. In 2009, 161,000 acres (approximately 25%) of the Angeles National Forest was destroyed by fire stripping the forests of Manzanita, sumac, sycamore and pine trees. 11,000 of…
I Am TreePeople: Tim Douglass
March 12, 2015TreePeople has a legacy of inspiring activism, but it’s the stories of our volunteers that inspire us to keep coming together to build a sustainable future. Meet Tim Douglass, a TreePeople volunteer and Mountain Forestry Supervisor. “We only have one environment and we have a responsibility to take care of it.” Tim got involved with TreePeople…
TreePeople’s Fruit Tree Distributions Bring Food & Shade to LA Communities
March 6, 2015More than 250 volunteers joined TreePeople to distribute nearly 2,000 trees to Angelenos from Inglewood, Huntington Park, Pacoima, and Watts during this year’s Fruit Tree Distribution Festivals. The events attracted a variety of volunteers, from local community members to groups, businesses and government representatives. This year the Laker Girls were on hand to help sort…
Victory for a More Climate-Resilient LA: Fuentes and Bonin’s Motion Approved by City Council
March 4, 2015Today, by unanimous vote, the Los Angeles City Council made a major move towards becoming a more climate-resilient city. Not only does LA face a current drought and worsening long-term water shortages, but we also are experiencing increased storm intensity and flooding when it does rain. Thanks to today’s passage of City Council members Felipe…
New LA Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance Takes Its First Steps at TreePeople Center
February 26, 2015TreePeople has always imagined our conference center here at Coldwater Canyon Park as a space that fosters important conversations around sustainability. Over the years, it has held a host of events including a State Assembly Committee hearing, collaborative discussions on infrastructure, to name a couple. Last Saturday’s event, the kick-off forum for the Neighborhood Council…
Boys and Girls Club Youth Care for Local Park Trees
February 25, 2015Engaging youth is a cornerstone of TreePeople’s values, dating back to when our founder Andy Lipkis started replanting forests at just 15 years old. In the spirit of our roots, we offered a group of teens from a local Boys and Girls Club a series of workshops leading up to a tree care event in…
What Small Stowaway is Killing California’s Trees?
February 20, 2015Have you ever heard of a little beetle named the Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (PSHB)? Despite their small size, these little terrors (stowed away from Asia) are now packing a big punch, killing trees in droves in Southern California. How Trees Die Pregnant female beetles attack hundreds of tree species, boring under the bark and…