Green Infrastructure

TreePeople’s Green Infrastructure program partners with communities to transform our urban landscapes into greener, healthier spaces. We work across schools, parks and public spaces, private parcels and streets, and turn lawns and paved areas into thriving landscapes. Our team designs, implements, maintains and advocates for green infrastructure projects that help capture water, reduce heat, and improve community well-being.

School Greening

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Parks and Public Spaces

TreePeople believes public spaces are essential to thriving communities. Our work reflects the belief that our public space should support communities, biodiversity, and well-being. Our team brings deep experience stewarding, activating, and designing public spaces. By integrating planning, implementation, and stewardship, we create public space projects that are rooted in place, resilient, and shaped by how communities actually use them

About the Project

TreePeople is teaming up with Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation, California State Parks, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the Baldwin Hills Conservancy, and SWA Landscape Architects for an exciting upgrade to ""The Bowl"" at Kenneth Hahn Park. We're transforming this beloved spot to better reflect our community's needs and enhance the natural beauty of the area.

Thanks to generous funding from the Baldwin Hills Conservancy (BHC) through Proposition 68, this project is set to make a big impact! We're addressing important environmental and public health issues while creating a space that everyone can enjoy. Our community-driven plan focuses on improving park access, boosting local ecology, providing both active and passive recreation opportunities, expanding the tree canopy, and bringing back native plants. The results? Better air quality, increased biodiversity, more wildlife habitats, and a healthier, more vibrant community park.

The project site, known as Janice’s Green Valley, is commonly called ""The Bowl."" This cherished area within Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area has a rich history and serves as a beautiful gathering place for relaxation and reflection. We honor the original Kizh/Gabrielino/Tongva peoples' land and remember the tragic 1963 reservoir dam breakdown that took five lives.

Get ready for a revitalized Bowl that will be a green, welcoming, and thriving space for everyone!

Partners

Baldwin Hills Conservancy, SWA Landscape Architects, Los Angeles County Recreation and Parks, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, California State Parks

About the Project

TreePeople' has called Coldwater Canyon Park home since 1976, and it serves as an example of the power of green infrastructure. Our campus includes a platinum-rated LEED certified conference center to host community events, and the landscape includes pollinator gardens, rain gardens, a 216,000 gallon cistern and the educational watershed garden.

Lawn to Landscape

Our Lawn to Landscape program partners with residents to transform water-thirsty lawns into beautiful, thriving, biodiverse landscapes. These projects conserve water, support native plants and wildlife, and demonstrate that even a small patch of grass can make a big difference for people and the environment.

Status: Completed
Location: Altadena
Project Partners: Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, Graywater Corps
Scope: Landscape construction, outreach, maintenance

About the Project

The Altadena Neighborhood Retrofits Project, which kicked off in 2021 and was completed in 2023, was a partnership with Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and installed 20 parkway basins and retrofitted 20 home landscapes in the neighborhood of Altadena. TreePeople led outreach, hands-on maintenance workshops, and designed and installed the landscapes. The retrofits aimed to reduce runoff, conserve water, and increase biodiversity through strategies inclufding turf removal, native plantings, stormwater basins and cisterns, and greywater systems.

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Partners

Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, Greywater Corps

About the Project

TreePeople conducted design consultations for 23 candidates to the West Basin Turf Replacement Program. Services included site visits of the homes and consultations with the candidates to advise on the selection of preferred trees and shrubs and help define their desired landscape design. Following each consultation, TreePeople delivered a comprehensive design package consisting of a planting plan, a planting palette and schedule, and a planting maintenance guide. In some cases, TreePeople also provided a follow-up visit and/or coordinated with the landscape contractor selected by the candidate to support project implementation.

Each design included rainwater gardens, native shrubs, and shade and fruit trees according to the candidates preferences. The designs aimed to reduce water use and to enhance native habitat within the neighborhood.

The candidates used the planting plan packages to qualify and apply for the West Basin Turf Replacement program.

Streets

Streets are essential public spaces, not just roads for cars. Through TreePeople’s Green Streets projects, we turn hot, car-dominated streets into living infrastructure that captures water, cools neighborhoods with shade, connects habitat, and makes streets safer and more enjoyable for pedestrians and cyclists.

Status: Completed
Location: San Fernando Valley
Scope: Green alley and stormwater infrastructure design, permitting and implementation. Tree Planting
# of trees: 250
# of native shrubs: 290

About the Project

TreePeople worked with a number of project partners to bring this project to life. Without their hard work, funding, and dedication, this project would not have been realized. Principally, TreePeople led community planting events in the bioswale, added trees, and installed rain barrels along Elmer Ave. As one partner on this extensive project, TreePeople engaged the community to hear their concerns, including frequent flooding. Working with LA Sanitation, the Council for Watershed Health, and numerous partners, this project aimed to alleviate the flooding that plagued the residents.

Completed in 2013, this project reimagined both the street and the connected alley way to reduce flooding by creating areas for rain water to infiltrate back into the soil. Previously, stormwater would accumulate in the street and alley, causing longstanding issues to arise. LA Sanitation took the lead in constructing the stormwater solution. Planting began in late 2009, led by Pam Gibson, leader of TreePeople's San Fernando Valley community outreach team.

Partners

  • CALFED Bay-Delta Watershed Program
  • California Department of Water Resources
  • Long Beach Stormwater Management Division
  • Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation, Watershed Protection Division*
  • Los Angeles Bureau of Street Lighting
  • Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services
  • Los Angeles Department of Water and Power*
  • Los Angeles County Department of Public Works*
  • Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board*
  • Metropolitan Water District of Southern California*
  • Pomona College*
  • Santa Monica Environmental Programs Division*
  • State Water Resources Control Board
  • University of California Riverside*
  • Upper Los Angeles River Area Watermaster*
  • U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation*
  • Water Replenishment District of Southern California*"

Status: Permitting and Bidding
Location: San Fernando
Project Partners: City of San Fernando, CA Coastal Conservancy, Tetratech
Scope: Streetscape stormwater infrastructure design, documentation, permitting and implementation. Tree Planting.

About the Project

Beginning in 2017, Funded by the Coastal Conservancy, TreePeople and the City of San Fernando have been partnering to bring Green Streets/Calles Verdes to the San Fernando Valley where we are making our streets greener, cooler, and more resilient. We've expanded the urban tree canopy with new street trees in partnership with schools, community groups, and faith-based organizations. Neighbors near planting sites are provided with watering buckets and care guides to help trees thrive.

Our most recent efforts are focused on enhancing three blocks along South Maclay Street and South Brand Boulevard with new green infrastructure to improve water quality, reduce flooding, and cool our streets.

Key features include:

  • Bioretention swales and curb extensions to naturally filter stormwater
  • Permeable and reflective pavement in Parking Lot 4 to reduce runoff and heat
  • Curb cuts that help rainwater flow into planted areas for natural absorption

Partners

Status: Planning and Design
Location: San Fernando Valley
Project Partners: The City of San Fernando, Craftwater, CNRA
Scope: Green alley and stormwater infrastructure design, permitting and implementation. Tree Planting
# of trees: 250
# of native shrubs: 290

About the Project

Carlisle Street, a well-used alleyway in San Fernando, is currently in poor condition, with potholes, cracked asphalt, and no markings for pedestrian protection or safe two-way travel. It also contributes to local flooding and urban heat due to its fully paved surface and lack of shade.

To transform this vital connector, the City of San Fernando, TreePeople, and the California Natural Resources Agency have partnered on a Green Alley project, building on our work with the Calles Verdes initiative. Funded by a California Urban Greening Grant, the project aims to upgrade the vehicular functioning of the alley with climate-resilient features and improved pedestrian and bicycle access.

Proposed improvements include:

  • Shade trees, native plants, and mulch
  • Bioswales for stormwater drainage
  • Permeable pavers to reduce runoff
  • New lighting, signage, and pavement markings
  • Increased safety for walking and biking
  • Greening of a nearby 52-space public parking lot
  • Opportunities for local artwork and cultural designs

TreePeople is hosting community outreach and ecological awareness workshops to identify neighborhood priorities and highlight the benefits of the project. Some design elements may change based on community input, but the project will prioritize safety, sustainability, and neighborhood character.

Partners