“We have enough water to live on, but not enough to waste.” — Dorothy Green, founding president of Heal the Bay. Dorothy Green wrote these words in an article that was published in the Los Angeles Times in 2008, shortly before her death. She went on to outline a thoughtful set of recommendations to create a sustainable…

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With the New Year comes lots of good intentions. Why not start with how you dispose of your holiday tree? If you’ve been thinking about trying to live a more sustainable lifestyle, you can look no further than your living room and that post-Christmas—or whatever holiday you celebrated—tree. Rather than haul it out for the…

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After working at TreePeople for five years, and attending many Citizen Forester events, I finally led my own tree planting. I’ve always known that TreePeople’s Citizen Foresters are amazing people, but I’ve never understood precisely what these volunteers go through to lead plantings in their neighborhoods. In my personal life, I am a board member…

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You are invited to an international event! Be a part of the US-Australian Dialogue on Water, which has major implications for Los Angeles’ water future. For over 20 years, TreePeople has been promoting the value of trees and nature-based urban planning as the best means of securing a sustainable, affordable and secure water supply for…

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Did you notice the recent rain we had? If you were at our rainwater harvesting workshop, not only did you get a chance to see our watershed garden in action, but you were able to take a rain barrel home for only $10! That’s right. Thanks to a great incentive through SoCal Water Smart, most Los…

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TreePeople and the U.S. Forest Service are gearing up for our fourth season restoring areas within the Angeles National Forest that were devastated by the historic Station Fire of 2009. This is one of the largest volunteer efforts on National Forest land in the United States, and we need your help supervising and educating thousands of…

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In case you missed it in The New York Times, “This year, for the first time in memory, the monarch butterflies didn’t come, at least not on the Day of the Dead. They began to straggle in a week later than usual, in record-low numbers. Last year’s low of 60 million now seems great compared…

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Have you ever wondered how to move away from a thirsty planted landscape to a more climate appropriate one? How you could get more trees, greenery and shade in your neighborhood without needing a huge amount of additional water? How you could do your part to prevent water pollution and save water by collecting rain?…

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Yes, it just rained in L.A. And since this is the season of gratitude, we should all give thanks for that ½” of rainfall, because in this dry year—the driest in 164 years—we need to make every drop count. It’s hard to remember that technically we are in a severe drought. After all, we can…

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A tree is always the right size, never goes out of style, doesn’t need wrapping, spares shoppers a trip to the mall and reduces climate change. According to the International Society of Arboriculture, a single mature tree can absorb the amount of carbon produced by a car driven 26,000 miles. What better way to celebrate…

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There’s been quite a bit of outrage over the Toys‘R’Us “Meet the Trees” ad campaign. If you haven’t seen it, I’ll give you a brief synopsis: kids think they’re going on a boring tree-related field trip, but instead get to go to Toys‘R’Us to pick out a free toy. Cue great wonderment and enthusiasm from…

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It’s lining up to be another dry winter, with water reserves at worryingly low levels. So what’s with L.A.’s obsession with expansive green lawns? How did this landscape ideal, imported from rainy Northern Europe, come to mean the good life in water-scarce Los Angeles? Can we keep it up, or is there a better way?…

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