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…
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Election Day: A Watershed Moment?
May 21, 2013On 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…
Fruit Trees Go Public
May 16, 2013You’ll have read about and possibly visited the public park orchard planted at Del Aire Park that opened last fall. It’s a Los Angeles County Arts Commission-sponsored project of the artist group Fallen Fruit, famous locally for their neighborhood maps of fruit-bearing trees accessible in public rights of way and the “fruit jams” they hold in…
Parking Lot Cool
May 14, 2013In these recent unseasonably hot days, have you noticed the heat radiating off blacktop? Black asphalt traps heat and releases it back into our cities. “But who said streets had to be black?” asked Ben Schiller, staff writer at Co.Exist. They pointed to Lawrence Berkeley Lab’s showcase of alternative paving surfaces to demonstrate how a…
It’s Raining! It’s Pouring!
May 9, 2013On average, Los Angeles gets only a quarter of an inch of rainfall in May. And yet… This year—a very dry one at that—we got a full inch of rain with the last storm. That bit of rainfall not only helped squelch the wildfires (which had an earlier than usual start this year), but it…
Downtown L.A. Goes from Gray to Green
May 3, 2013What’s better than a tree planting to beautify downtown L.A.? Many tree plantings to beautify downtown L.A.! TreePeople Citizen Forester Gabrielle Newmark rallied her downtown Los Angeles Arts District community to plant 27 trees—including well-adapted Australian willows and pink trumpet trees—on April 27. Enthusiastic volunteers named each tree so that now Hector, Blossom, Roscoe, Ilean,…
Free Workshops on Landscape Transformation, this Saturday, May 4
May 1, 2013Got plans for Saturday morning? If not, then come up to TreePeople and attend one of our free quarterly workshops on how to transform your home and neighborhood landscapes. You’ll learn everything you ever wanted to know about rain water harvesting, replacing a lawn with native plants, or planting trees—but were afraid to ask. Learn…
Celebrate Urban Trees as Superheroes on National Arbor Day, April 26
April 26, 2013U.S. Forest Service researchers have published compelling evidence* of urban trees’ immense carbon storage capacity. Along with the other many things they do to improve the environment, trees absorb carbon dioxide emissions from a multitude of pollution sources in our cities. “Thus,” the researchers conclude, “urban trees influence local climate, carbon cycles, energy use, and climate change.”…
Citizen Forestry: Why Trees Don’t Make Sustainable Communities, People Do
April 24, 2013On April 27, several bleak and over-paved blocks of downtown L.A.’s Arts District will be transformed by a community planting of 27 trees. Birds will sing, leaves will flutter, and hearts will lift: all because one person had a dream and got enough people excited about that dream to make it a reality. That’s how…
Namaste, Girl-Karma!
April 22, 2013If what goes around comes around, then the group Girl-Karma can expect major Earth Day kudos for its members’ commitment to improving environmental health. Our wonderful volunteer Michelle Moy talked about her experience planting trees with TreePeople for the group’s Karma in Action column. She wanted to share what she learned about the benefits of trees,…
Take an Earth Day Walk in the Park
April 19, 2013At TreePeople we like to think of every day as Earth Day. But that doesn’t mean we don’t love to celebrate April 22 as a great time to do something wonderful for the earth. Still, maybe planting 100 trees or installing a rain garden at your local school is more than you can work into…
Discover the North Valleyheart Riverwalk, April 21
April 15, 2013In April we branch out on our next community tree walk with partners at the Village Gardeners, who will show us their beautification and restoration efforts along the Los Angeles River in Studio City. Trees and water unite in a leisurely and informative stroll through areas of the designated North Valleyheart Riverwalk Greenway, part of…