A Letter from Our Director of Development Dear TreePeople Family, With August in full swing, we celebrate National Make-A-Will Month—a time to reflect on the lasting legacy each of us can leave for the future of our environment. Legacy giving, or planned giving, is an extraordinary way to ensure your values live on, nurturing the... Read more → The post The Power of Planned Giving: A Greener Tomorrow Starts Today appeared first on TreePeople ..read more

The benefits of growing California native plants are vast: they increase biodiversity by providing habitat and food for native creatures. They’re highly sustainable and low maintenance because they’re adapted to California’s ecosystem. And of course, they’re just plain beautiful! If you have a yard you can rip out and replace with natives—you absolutely should! Our... Read more → The post How to grow native plants in containers appeared first on TreePeople ..read more

Have you ever wanted to learn more about the trees and plants in your very own backyard? What are they called? And what positive impacts do they have on your life and in your neighborhood? TreePeople is partnering with the U.S. Forest Service to answer some of these questions, and we need your help. At... Read more → The post Learn More About Your Own Trees With The Help Of TreePeople and the Forest Service appeared first on TreePeople ..read more

Native, non-native, and invasive. If you’re passionate about plants, you’ve probably heard these terms thrown around a lot. They’re used to describe the origins of different species, and often the connotation is that native plants are “good,” while other plants are “bad” or unwanted, and should be removed.  But is this always true? Can plants... Read more → The post “Good” Plants vs. “Bad” Plants: unpacking the invasive species discourse appeared first on TreePeople ..read more

If you live in Southern California, you’re probably familiar with the ubiquitous black mustard plant. Every spring, its bright yellow flowers blanket our hillsides, freeway medians, parks—basically, anywhere there’s a patch of dirt, mustard will grow. It’s a plant that thrives in disturbed areas—and unfortunately, it often disturbs the habitat around it, too. Considered invasive... Read more → The post If you can’t beat it, eat it! Five ways to use invasive black mustard appeared first on TreePeople ..read more

No child dreams of playing on scorching hot asphalt. And yet, more than 2.5 million K-12 students in California attend schools with less than 5% tree canopy in their play areas. Not only do green schoolyards enrich learning outcomes and improve mental health, they also provide life saving shade for our students and teachers.  We... Read more → The post Call to Action! Allocate $1B for School Greening in the Proposed Education Bond appeared first on TreePeople ..read more

Fire has always been a natural part of California’s ecology. But in recent years, 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 on May 16, 2024, TreePeople and California Botanic Garden (CalBG) kicked off a $7 million initiative... Read more → The post From fire damage to flourishing habitat: TreePeople kicks off $7 million mountain restoration effort appeared first on TreePeople ..read more

If you’re a homeowner, a landscaping professional, or someone who just cares a lot about the health of your local trees, you’re probably familiar with the practice of pruning.  In its simplest form, pruning involves removing branches from a tree for a specific purpose. But how often should you be doing this? Which branches should... Read more → The post Pruning 101: the TreePeople guide to proper tree pruning appeared first on TreePeople ..read more

Over 50 years ago, TreePeople began as a testament to the power of youth and we’re continuing to harness that spirit with our environmental education programming. The post TreePeople Celebrates Environmental Education with 2024 Youth Summit appeared first on TreePeople ..read more

In the preface to Claire Latané’s Schools That Heal, she reminds us that “It is hard to make healthy schools. Even in neighborhoods that have plenty of resources, most school environments fall short of supporting students’ mental and physical health and well-being.” TreePeople’s School Greening initiative aims to collaborate with school communities to reimagine how... Read more → The post How TreePeople is Greening Schoolyards appeared first on TreePeople ..read more