MAKING A DIFFERENCE : One Organization’s Approach: Plant trees to cultivate community life

Founded 20 years ago in Los Angeles, TreePeople has planted more than 1 million trees in Southern California at a savings to taxpayers of more than $200 million. The trees beautify, oxygenate and cool their environment. In 1986, with the development of its Citizen Forester training program, the internationally recognized environmental group began to shift its focus from the quantity of trees planted to emphasize community participation in tree planting and maintenance.

CITIZEN FORESTERS

More than 300 “Citizen Foresters” have learned how to improve their communities by getting their neighbors together to plant new trees and care for what’s already there.

During their 20-hour, five-week training Citizen Foresters are expected to begin a tree project and complete it within a year. Many Citizen Foresters continue to organize at least one planting or tree-care project each year, caring for new trees for several years after planting or acting as consultants for other groups who need guidance putting together their own tree projects.

ONE VOLUNTEER’S EXPERIENCE

Todd Williams, a graduate of last fall’s training program, volunteers as a full-time Citizen Forester with the Hollywood Urban Project to provide environmentally-oriented employment and experience for local youth. Since January, he and 20 teen-agers have assisted at weekly tree plantings throughout Los Angeles as preparation for organizing plantings in their own south Hollywood neighborhood. In May, Williams and his wife, Tisha, whose full-time work supports the couple, moved from their Westside home to Hollywood and plan to continue developing tree-planting and community gardening projects in their new neighborhood:

“If you’d told me three years ago that I’d be living in Hollywood working with high-risk kids planting trees, I’d have told you that there’s as much chance of that happening as me going to the moon. (But) I decided with my wife to quit my job in October of 1992, with an interest in focusing on community work.

“I’m doing this full-time right now, but anyone can participate part-time. We each can decide on our own how we can help to make the city more livable. People feel that if they stay to themselves within their family they can stay safe, but a tree-planting can demonstrate that we can come together safely and work together. Being on the defensive, isolated, isn’t changing neighborhoods for the better.

“The thing that’s closest to my heart is that this project (the Hollywood Urban Project) I helped with became the kids’ project, and that it will continue to evolve as our neighborhood’s project. I’m a part of a project that may keep them open to doing more things in their neighborhood, to take more responsibility and take more action to improve our community.”

FORESTER TRAINING INCLUDES:

Community outreach and public speaking techniques

Project site selection and obtaining permits

Urban tree care and appropriate species selection

Event planning and fund-raising

CITIZEN FORESTER PROJECT SAMPLER:

January 13, 1990

Organized 3000 volunteers to plant nearly 400 trees along seven miles of Martin Luther King Boulevard in one day. Volunteers also provide monthly tree maintenance, including weeding, watering, and pruning.

Spring 1991

Launched the Earth Ninos environmental club at East Los Angeles’ Humphrey Elementary School and developed projects with students to plant 43 trees on campus and in the surrounding neighborhood.

Fall 1992

Gathered a Pacific Palisades neighborhood and Cub Scout troop to plant eight trees on a traffic island in memory of a resident’s spouse.

January-March 1993

Worked with 31 community groups from South Central, Koreatown, Pico-Union, Hollywood and elsewhere to distribute 3,785 fruit trees; offered multilingual training for recipients on how to plant, prune and care for trees.

TO GET INVOLVED

No prior tree knowledge or experience is necessary to be a Citizen Forester. Training cost is $50, but scholarships are available in cases of financial need. Call 818-771-8388 or 818-753-4600 for more information.