TreePeople
Want to get away? Think that Hawaiian vacay is out of your price range? Well, if you still have a lush green lawn on your property, maybe not. The price for grass has doubled! Quick, cash in now and make up to $4,000 (depending on the size of your lawn). The Los Angeles Department of…
As a lifelong Angeleno, Mary remembers a time when she could ride her bike anywhere she wanted and nobody had to worry about where their children were. A time when nothing interesting happened except for an earthquake in 1933. “It was very peaceful, very ordinary,” she recalls of her upbringing. Then, in the late 70s,…
In many ways, Xavier Cervantes is your typical 14-year-old. He’s a freshman in high school, he loves to go camping, and if he could spend a day in the life of any famous person, it would be funny-man George Lopez. But if you ask him for his thoughts on our current environmental crisis, he sounds…
Fire season is a part of LA, right? Like earthquakes and off-the-rails movie stars, if we’ve survived them once we can do it again, right? Wrong. The problem is that with the climate changing, things are getting more intense. This is not your momma’s fire season. Southern California is in its seventh driest year on…
After the President’s speech on climate change this morning, and looking ahead to a hot weekend, we find our thoughts turning to snow. Specifically, Los Angeles’s precious local mountain snowpack. Why is this snowpack important (outside of skiing considerations), you might ask? In a lot of ways, it is a measure of the impact of…
Going on vacation? Trying to find someone to care for your garden while you’re away? Well, this amazing duo of SoCal natives goes on vacay with you, as they need almost no water in the summer. Black sage and Flannel bush will lounge around your garden, perfectly blending with the beautiful and laid-back vibe of…
At TreePeople we’re all about partnerships. From the U.S. Forest Service to the Mountains Restoration Trust to the Social Justice Learning Institute to city and county government agencies, professionals and organizations give us reasons every day to stand in awe of the individuals and groups willing to work together toward improving the health of our trees…
Forty-five-acre Coldwater Canyon Park is home to TreePeople’s hilltop headquarters and the state-of-the-art Center for Community Forestry. Known to locals as a great hiking and dog-walking area, it’s one of the city’s valuable open spaces, and therefore home also to a myriad species of native plants and animals. As in other urban parks, though, its…
Did you grow up in Los Angeles? Can you remember what the streets and parks looked like when you were a small child? Is it hard to imagine what used to stand where a new mall or office building now looms? For Josh, growth is measured by a pine tree in Van Nuys. When Josh…
When we see fires raging, as we have too many times this year already, it’s natural to feel helpless. We’re always extremely vulnerable to fires in Southern California. Within the areas surrounding the Santa Monica Mountains—from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County—more than half a million people are directly…
When I walked into the school office, armed with my spray paint and tape measure, I was greeted by Jorge Alvarez, one of the Victoria Avenue Elementary School Green Team members. “Are we marking the asphalt today?” You would’ve thought it was Christmas, the way his face lit up when I said yes. “Let me…
On this day when the people of Los Angeles will choose the next mayor, a leader who will be called on to prepare our city for the severe weather that is forecast for our future, including droughts and floods, it is heartening for me to reflect on what we learned from our Dutch colleagues during…