TreePeople brings together 75 of the nation’s most talented and forward-thinking landscape and building architects, engineers, hydrologists, urban foresters, government officials and community leaders to help retrofit residential, public, commercial, and industrial properties to function as urban forest micro-watersheds and more efficiently achieve regional policy objectives. TreePeople brings environmental education to the forefront by partnering with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works to create the Generation Earth program, which provides professional development training for teachers and hands-on support for students conducting environmental service learning projects. TreePeople becomes a leader in the coalition that helped create the California Regional Environmental Education Communication (CREEC). TreePeople continues to serve as the Los Angeles area coordinator for the CREEC network and still holds the contract with Generation Earth, engaging over TK students since the program began. TreePeople partners with Los Angeles County Department of Public Works to create the Generation Earth program, which as of today has engaged more than TK students on environmental issues.

TreePeople launches the Transagency Resources for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (T.R.E.E.S.) project to create an integrated approach to managing the urban ecosystem. as an urban/forest watershed through multi-agency partnerships and an educated, empowered citizenry. TreePeople launches the T.R.E.E.S. (Transagency Resources for Environmental and Economic Sustainability) to reimagine the urban ecosystem.

TreePeople holds the largest urban planting in its history: a one day planting of nearly 400 trees with 3,000 volunteers along a seven mile stretch of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Los Angeles. The book The Simple Act of Planting a Tree by Andy and Katie Lipkis, is published.

To help L.A. prepare for its goal of creating citywide mandatory recycling, TreePeople develops a recycling curriculum for local students. During the school year that follows, 60,000 children go through the program.        

The Citizen Forester Training program is established. In the days following a devastating fire, TreePeople coordinates volunteers to rescue thousands of waterlogged books from the Los Angeles Central Library. With the help of Pan Am, TreePeople airlifts 6,000 surplus bare-root fruit trees from California growers to Africa. Over the next three years, 1,200 additional trees are distributed.

TreePeople plants its one millionth tree TreePeople saves 26,000 excess bare-root fruit trees from wholesale growers in California’s Central Valley. The trees are pruned and bagged by volunteers, and then distributed to low-income families and tribal communities through food banks, churches, and schools.

TreePeople launches the Million Tree Campaign. To celebrate, staff and volunteers go to the mountains and plant 7,000 seedlings in one day. In response to The City of Los Angeles Planning Department calling for the planting of a million trees to help Los Angeles comply with the 1970 Clean Air Act. The city estimates that it would require twenty years to plant and 200 million dollars. TreePeople completes the massive undertaking in just three years.

In February, TreePeople mobilizes 3,000 volunteers to assist local homeowners in volunteer-organized emergency-relief efforts during excessive rains and flooding. Andy Lipkis appears on The Tonight Show, and Johnny Carson makes a personal contribution to replace shovels lost during the relief work. On the tenth anniversary of Earth Day, 2,000 people attend a celebration at the TreePeople headquarters.

TreePeople closes the Marina Freeway for a Tree Run to raise money for urban forestry. The Tree Run attracts 5,000 runners. TreePeople membership program begins. TreePeople and 5,000 runners close down CA-90 for the Tree Run to raise money for urban forestry.

TreePeople mobilizes volunteers for disaster-relief work after severe rains and local flooding, resulting in the headquarters being designated L.A.’s Emergency Resource Center. Community programs at Coldwater Canyon Park begins. TreePeople is awarded its first education grant by the California Department of Education’s Environmental Education Program, and 15,000 school children are reached in the first year. The California Conservation Project officially becomes TreePeople, Inc.

By the end of this fourth year, TreePeople plants 50,000 trees. TreePeople officially takes over the Mountain Fire Station grounds as its headquarters. The site is immediately designated as Coldwater Canyon Park.

TreePeople finds a home at what is now called Coldwater Canyon Park. The Los Angeles City Recreation & Parks Department grants TreePeople a conditional-use permit of its Mountain Fire Station 108 to develop a small-scale nursery to grow seedlings. The Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) donates a ’50s vintage fuel truck, which becomes TreePeople’s water truck.