Born from the efforts of a teenager over 50 years ago, TreePeople inspires and supports the people of Southern California to come together to plant and care for trees, harvest the rain, and renew depleted landscapes. Through a unique model, they listen to, equip, and train volunteers to green urban spaces and mountains. TreePeople has activated millions of people in planting and caring for millions of trees.
They work with both educators and students to train the next generation of eco-conscious leaders. They steward thousands of acres of land—maintaining habitats and protecting land from development. They develop original, actionable research that drives science-based policy. They train volunteers on the ground to help build a greener Southern California.
Their Focus Areas
Education: Providing students, teachers and the school community with the knowledge, tools and support they need to create environmental change. Forestry: Restoring ecosystems, planting trees, and incorporating nature-based solutions from Southern California urban streets to our greater watershed. Parks & Trails: Protecting and stewarding natural parks and open spaces. Policy & Research: Conducting cutting-edge research and facilitating policies that support nature-based solutions. Community: Working towards environmental and social justice among environmentally stressed communities.
Fire has always been a natural part of California’s ecology but climate change and decreasing biodiversity have resulted in more frequent and larger wildfires in the Angeles National Forest and the adjacent wildland-urban interface. That’s why in May, TreePeople and California Botanic Garden (CalBG) kicked off a $7 million initiative to rehabilitate ecosystems in these fire-impacted areas—and to study how we can implement more effective restoration techniques across Southern California.
The project, which is generously funded by a grant from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), will focus on oak, conifer, and chaparral restoration across multiple fire-scarred areas including the Copper, Powerhouse, Bobcat, Narrow, Creek, Route, and Lake fires.
“This partnership will restore degraded areas to a greatly improved biodiverse and resilient state–removing the invasive plant species that then dry out and become fuel for fires. It will also foster public stewardship by providing access to natural spaces and environmental education to Southern California residents,” says Thierry Rivard, TreePeople’s Director of Mountain Forestry.
The project will involve removing quick-burning invasive plants like this black mustard from more than 250 acres of forest land.
This ground-breaking project is expected to restore 1,070 acres of forest, by engaging volunteers to remove quick-burning invasives and help plant more than 54,000 native plants and trees. Acorns, seeds, and plant specimens will also be collected to be used for future restoration projects.