TreePeople
When Dolores Reece decided to head an effort to revitalize the greenery in her Los Angeles neighborhood just north of the 10 Freeway, she felt as if it was something she was meant to be doing. A California native, Dolores grew up with a profound appreciation for the beauty of the natural world and our…
In 1973, TreePeople was born from a teenager’s dream. From the beginning, Andy Lipkis’ vision was to connect the power of trees with the power of people to heal Los Angeles’ damaged ecosystem. From successfully inspiring the planting of a million trees in Los Angeles in time for the 1984 summer Olympics, to planting seven…
By now I have met many of TreePeople’s wonderful supporters over e-mail or in-person. But in case I haven’t met you yet, I will take this opportunity to introduce myself. Before beginning this position I was eager to see what this organization and its 10,000 annual volunteers had in store for me. After a very…
Our “sound bite” name of TreePeople is misleading. What we do goes way beyond trees. A recent article in Forbes describes the deeper side of our work, which is about building Los Angeles’ next water supply. Trees are inextricably linked to water—capturing, cleansing and storing rainwater and protecting us from drought and floods. As such, they…
With TreePeople’s mission to inspire and engage people in making Los Angeles sustainable and healthy, we can’t ignore the role that our transportation system plays with its massive consumption of energy, and generation of CO2 and air pollution. Our streets, roads and highways are the primary mechanism whereby we pollute and throw away over $400…
“It is not what we have that will make us a great nation; it is the way in which we use it.” -Teddy Roosevelt This Saturday is the 20th Anniversary of National Public Lands Day! This is the nation’s largest, single-day volunteer effort for public lands. So what are your Saturday plans? How about saving…
Whatever you’re doing on Saturday, October 5, cancel it, call-in sick, quickly clone yourself, something. Just do whatever you need to do to get to TreePeople’s FREE Community Sustainability Workshop. Why the rush? Well, believe it or not, soon it will rain in Los Angeles, and now is the time to get ready. Native plant…
Even though our name is TreePeople, our organization is as focused on the city’s watershed as we are on its individual trees. After all, the forest has always been nature’s water supply and pollution clean-up system. I’ll be shedding light on how that works in Los Angeles—and the many benefits to our environment, community and…
Here at TreePeople, back-to-school has us celebrating the start of our favorite season—Eco-tour season! For over thirty years, thousands of Los Angeles area children have experienced a TreePeople Eco-tour as a high point of their school year. For some inner city students, their field trip to TreePeople’s 45-acre natural park and learning campus in the…
Is the summer heat leaving you feeling a bit parched? Perhaps your landscaping is thirsty, too? If so, you’re not alone. People all over the southwestern United States are realizing that our traditional green lawn landscapes are more difficult and expensive to keep watered in hot, dry years like this one. So much so that…
Trees need people. People need trees. And TreePeople counts on volunteers year-round. We appreciate the countless hours of hard work done by thousands of volunteers each year, but the value of volunteers to this organization goes far beyond the sweat hours put in every weekend. From friendly smiles to funny moments, and patient teachings to…
It is difficult to imagine what Hancock Park Elementary School, just two blocks from the busy intersection of Fairfax Avenue and Third Street, would look like without its luscious greenery. Tree canopies scattered throughout the grounds provide refuge from the sizzling blacktop and seem to uplift the vibrant little school from its urban environment. Tall…