Dig In Newsletter

TreePeople’s Monthly Newsletter for August 2025

Upcoming Events with Living Earth

TreePeople and Living Earth have partnered to bring some really special evenings this upcoming week! Starting this Friday at 7pm with our monthly Moonlight Hike (every fourth Friday of the month), musicians Diego Gaeta & V Ontiveros will lead off the night with some magical music before we depart on our educational and group hike. All ages are welcome (with supervision).

Next Wednesday, August 27th at 5:30pm, we celebrate the 88th solar return of Alice Coltrane, Swamini Turiyasangitananda, with a concert honoring her legacy as a musician and spiritual leader. This evening is presented and organized by keyboardist and Coltrane mentee Surya Botofasina and experimental composer and percussionist Carlos Niño, who will present an evening of sounds inspired by Turiyasangitananda’s devotional music.

Tickets are still available for both events. Join us!

Tickets here

Save Our Urban Canopy

LA’s urban canopy is in a crisis. From 2000 to 2021 alone, Los Angeles lost 11% of its overall tree canopy. According to the city’s Urban Forestry Division, we could lose around HALF of the trees we have left over the next four decades.

Why is this happening? Well, life in the big city is tough for trees, which have to deal with unhealthy soils, extreme heat, irregular watering, poor pruning, the threat of development, and more. While planting new trees is a big part of what we do here at TreePeople, we also believe that it’s critical to preserve and protect the trees we already have. And that’s why we’re urging YOU to save our urban canopy, before it’s too late! Here are some ways you can help:

Care for the trees in your neighborhood by starting your own community tree care team!

Protect our local trees by stopping harmful pruning practices like topping.

And advocate for LA’s protected trees and the rest of our urban canopy by promoting tree-friendly planning practices.

And that’s not all! Read about all of the ways that you can help save our urban canopy over on our blog.

Learn how you can help

ICYMI: Simon Sinek’s Conversation is Available Online

We are excited to announce that the Simon Sinek conversation from earlier this month is available to purchase on demand! And if you purchased the livestream, you will have access for the next year! All streaming purchases directly support TreePeople’s Wildfire Resilience Fund.

Purchase the video here

School Greening Summer Update

TreePeople is making major strides in cooling down LA schoolyards! This summer, we have been monitoring temperatures during construction to track cooling effects across our project sites–noting that asphalt can surpass 130 degrees Fahrenheit! We’re on the way to removing more than 380,000 square feet of asphalt and planting native plants, mulch, and shade trees on 17 campuses for our CAL FIRE Green Schoolyards grant. We can’t wait to return and measure the difference in post-construction surface temperatures!

Learn more

Make Trees Your Legacy

Grow your legacy with our new FreeWill partnership! This free online tool helps you create or update your will in 20 minutes or less, so you can protect what matters most and plant seeds for a greener tomorrow. Whether you’re planning for loved ones, assets, or a meaningful planned gift, FreeWill provides you with the tools to support a greener Southern California while giving you peace of mind. Learn more and get started today!

Make my will

L.A. needs high-quality, lasting shade. Marcos Trinidad, our Senior Director of Programs, recently spoke with Los Angeles Times about how the city needs long-term tree care ahead of the Olympics and beyond. You can also see this article in Yahoo! News.

Legendary architect Mia Lehrer mentioned TreePeople’s 50+ years work in creating a more resilient future using nature-based solutions in Los Angeles Times.

Students of L.A. deserve the best when it comes to schoolyards! Emily Tyrer, our Director of Green Infrastructure, spoke about the impact and funding of critical school greening projects in LAist.

Although our Native Garden Plant Kits have sold out, we love all the spotlight they’ve been receiving in Pasadena Now, The Cool Down, and Yahoo! News.

We are Hiring!

Turn your love for the environment into a career at TreePeople! We’re looking for passionate environmental enthusiasts to join our growing team. Now hiring for multiple positions: including roles in community forestry, mountain forestry, administration, communications, and more. Working at TreePeople isn’t just a job, it’s an opportunity to build a career making a difference in the world. If you share our vision of a greener world, apply today!

View Jobs & Internships

TreePeople | 12601 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90210 | info@treepeople.org