TreePeople

It's peak berry season, and you may have spotted this California native variety cropping up along trails!

The flowers of the Golden Currant are a favorite of many pollinators in the Spring, and in Summer it produces juicy gold and purple berries that are an important food source for a variety of our avian friends. 🐤

The currents are also edible to humans, and can be used in a variety of dishes from pies to ice cream! Grow some in your native plant garden if you want to give it a try, but if you spot it in the wild...it's probably best left for the birds.

Learn more fun facts about native plants by checking out our Southern California Native Plant Guide: https://tinyurl.com/39hatwnb

Want to enjoy all the beautiful biodiversity native plants can bring to your home, but don’t have a lot of outdoor space? Here are some tips for creating a beautiful native plant garden in containers! 🦋🪴🐝 ☀️

To help kickstart your garden, head to https://shop.treepeople.org/products/colorful-container-garden to reserve one of our new “Colorful Container” native garden kits.

All photos of container plants courtesy of Ernesto Alvarado/.

It might still be hot outside…but we’re already getting ready for spooky season here at TreePeople! 👻

This Saturday, multi-instrumentalist and producer will present a live, improvised score to the iconic German horror film “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” against a backdrop of trees in our S. Mark Taper Foundation Amphitheatre.

Harrington will enlist two of his favorite and closest collaborators, Spencer Zahn & Max Jaffe, to create a spacious, unpredictable blend of cosmic jazz, electronic music, and psychedelic improvisation to score the classic film.

A special night, a rare live engagement with film for Harrington, and a truly unpredictable and in-the-moment night of music. Get you tickets now at the link in bio!

We love all of our California native trees, but the iconic coast live oak holds a special place in our hearts 🌳💚

This incredible tree does SO much for our environment, from enhancing the soil to helping recharge our aquifer. And of course, it’s also a keystone species, supporting hundreds of other creatures and serving as a beacon for biodiversity across California.

What’s your favorite thing about the coast live oak?

LAUSD Board of Education made a historic decision this week to unanimously approve a historic $1.25 billion investment in Green Schoolyards!

A greener future for all students will be on the ballot in November. Read our full statement in support here:

https://treepeople.prowly.com/341819-treepeople-commends-lausd-board-of-educations-approval-of-historic-125-billion-investment-in-green-schoolyards-in-proposed-school-bond

Did you know that California has a state GRASS? 🌾

It's called purple needlegrass—and while its muted purple seeds might not look as flashy as the petals of our state flower the poppy, it plays an incredibly important role in our ecosystem!

The most widespread native grass in the state, purple needlegrass is able to grow in disturbed areas and is extremely drought-tolerant. Once it establishes its roots, it has the ability to to repel fire-prone invasive plants, and it also helps provide food and habitat for hundreds of living things. Not to mention it can live up to 100 YEARS!

It's a great choice for those looking to plant a low-water, meadow style garden. Learn more fun facts about native plants by checking out our Southern California Native Plant Guide: https://tinyurl.com/39hatwnb

This Saturday, TreePeople is thrilled to present Rett Madison at our beautiful S. Mark Taper Foundation Amphitheatre! 🌳🎶

Raised in West Virginia, moved to Los Angeles to pursue songwriting, where she landed gigs singing background vocals for artists like Lorde and Kate Nash. Her debut album Pin-Up Daddy established Madison as an artist in her own right, leading her to sign with War Buddha, a Nashville-based joint venture with Warner Records, as their debut artist. Since then, she’s opened for Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Elle King, and more, bringing her distinctive take on Americana to a widening fanbase.

Head to the link in bio to get your tickets now! All proceeds go towards supporting TreePeople’s environmental work throughout Southern California.

Endemic to California's Channel Islands, this rare buckwheat varietal produces beautiful, rose-pink blooms all summer long. 🩷

This makes it a great addition to a pollinator garden, since it keeps the bees and butterflies happy even as other flowers dry up! 🐝🦋

Learn more fun facts about native plants by checking out our Southern California Native Plant Guide: https://tinyurl.com/39hatwnb

Tree care summer is in full effect! 😎🌳💪

We need your help to water and maintain the trees in our urban and mountain canopies, so our communities and ecosystems stay healthy and happy!

Head to treepeople.org/volunteer to sign up for a volunteer event, and don't forget to check out our lineup of fun concerts happening this month at Coldwater Canyon Park! 🎶

A gym membership? In THIS economy? No way! Working out in nature is WAY better for your wallet—and our local ecosystems. 💪🌳

Ditch your LA Fitness card and join us for , as we work to help all of those baby trees we planted in the spring survive these sizzling temperatures!

It's one of the most important times to volunteer here at TreePeople, and we need all the help we can get. Head to treepeople.org/volunteer sign up now.

It’s been a beautiful summer of music under the trees at Coldwater Canyon Park, and the fun is far from over! 🌳🎶

We’ll be keeping the party going all Summer long in our beautiful our S. Mark Taper Foundation Amphitheater. And proceeds from every TreePeople Presents event go towards supporting our important work restoring urban and mountain canopies throughout SoCal!

Head to the link in bio to snag your tickets for and now, and stay tuned for more event drops soon. 👀

Have you ever spotted these sticky red berries on a hike in SoCal? These are lemonade berries, and they get their name from their SUPER tart flavor! 😵‍💫🍋

A member of the sumac family, this California native is a popular snack among small mammals and birds, including bushtits and quails. With its hearty leaves, it's also fire resistant. And, it's really good at preventing erosion—which is why you'll often see it grown near beachside cliffs.

Learn more fun facts about native plants by checking out our Southern California Native Plant Guide!
https://www.treepeople.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/native-plant-guide-2023_ebook.pdf

Most of our events are online, but we do love the chance to be in-person! Last month our Associate Director of Regional Programs, Mikaela Randolf, and Program Manager, Lauren McKenna, attended the Generation Earth Summer Institute Resource Fair at WRD Albert Robles Center for Water Recycling and Environmental Learning in Pico Rivera, CA. They talked with educators from around Los Angeles about the importance of living schoolyards and schoolyard forests and shared our free online resources to help green campuses and get students outside.

Thank you TreePeople for bringing together this eager group of teachers to learn about local environmental issues and how to address these issues with their students!

Native, non-native, invasive...when you're talking about plants, these categories can be difficult to define, or even controversial.

What do these terms really mean? And how should they inform the way we approach restoration? It's time to get in the weeds about...weeds. 🌱

Planning any camping trips this summer? ⛺️🌳☀️ If so, you should know that your firewood could be carrying TREE-KILLING PESTS! 👀

In Southern California, invasive insects like the goldspotted oak borer and the shothole borer have infested and killed tens of thousands of trees in recent years, posing huge risks to our local ecosystem.

While these insects can only travel a short distance on their own, they can travel inside cut wood — and because of this, campers traveling with firewood are one of the primary causes of new infestations.

Want to help stop the spread, and save the trees that make camping so lovely in the first place? Then just follow this one simple rule:

🔥 BUY IT WHERE YOU BURN IT! 🔥

The closer you can purchase firewood to your campsite, the better. Get heat-treated wood if you can. And, it’s always a good idea to ask your seller where the wood came from.

To find firewood sellers close to your campsite, check out the map at firewoodscout.org. Happy camping!

Summer is tree care season, and we need your help! Come help us water, mulch, and care for our urban and mountain canopies at one of our weekly volunteer events, and then cool off at a movie or concert in the park! 😎

Head to treepeople.org/volunteer to learn more.

Our summer music season is in full swing! 🌳🎶 And new events keep dropping 👀

Come enjoy a concert among the trees in our beautiful S. Mark Taper Foundation Amphitheatre, and help fund the important work we do to expand urban and mountain tree canopies across Southern California!

Head to treepeople.org/events to get your tickets now.

To our beloved SFV residents and supporters:

We are devastated to share that our dear Pam Gibson, Regional Manager of the San Fernando Valley, has passed away.

Pam spent the past 17 years as a pillar of TreePeople. She was an inspiring leader, spearheading the organization’s community forestry initiatives across the San Fernando Valley and leading with her unrivaled, vibrant energy and heart of gold. She was a true community advocate, placing her commitment to our local residents first when organizing volunteer events, community workshops, and urban greening projects. Until Pam’s last day she was determined to come back to work in her treasured City of San Fernando. Her infectious energy and no-nonsense attitude are irreplaceable, and she will never be forgotten.

In light of this unexpected and heartbreaking loss, we ask that you please respect the privacy of her family at this time. We do invite you to honor Pam’s legacy by donating to her memorial fundraiser, which can be found in the bio. We will share details about additional opportunities to celebrate Pam’s life and legacy as details become available.

Pam, we know your beautiful laugh and loving spirit live on in the trees that we continue to plant and care for together. We miss you terribly.

Tree care summer is just getting started! ☀️😎 Come have some fun in the sun with us at one of our weekly volunteer events.

Head to treepeople.org/volunteer to learn more about all the ways you can help tend to our urban and mountain canopies this week.

POV: you’re sitting in the woods with your friends on a warm summer evening, enjoying a delicious picnic and one of the movies in our new Films in the Forest series. 😌🍃🎞️ ✨

Our summer movie season is just getting started, with screenings of Selena and Fern Gully slated for July!

Head to treepeople.org/events to get your tickets now, and to learn about the other exciting events we have coming up.

Temperatures are rising! Know what can help keep our streets cool and shady? Healthy, happy TREES! 🌳☀️

Come help us care for our urban and mountain canopies this weekend at one of our volunteer events, and then cool of at one one of our fun summer events at Coldwater Canyon Park. Head to the link in bio to learn more.

Are you exuberant and bright like the plants in our sunshine superbloom native plant palette? Or do you bring unexpected beauty to overlooked areas, like our shaded symphony collection?

No matter what your sign or yard type, there's a native garden kit for everyone! Head to treepeople.org/native-garden-kit to order yours now.

The temps are rising, and the trees are THIRSTY! 🌡️🌳☀️

Come help us care for our urban and mountain canopies at one of this weekend's volunteer events. Then, catch the kickoff of our summer film and movie series at our own Coldwater Canyon Park!

https://www.treepeople.org/volunteer/

🌀 Los Angeles! Have you gotten to our presents show at the S. Mark Taper Amphitheater July 14th?? Gonna be a real special one, not to be missed! 🌀 Double vision by 💙

The Los Angeles Times editorial board agrees: we need funding for school greening NOW to keep our communities safe from extreme heat.

You can help by calling Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, author of the proposed school infrastructure bond, and urging him to allocate $1 billion for Green Schoolyards in the final education bond.

Capitol Office (916) 319-2066

District Office (310) 375-0691.

Editorial: California's next school bond should include money for grass, trees and green spaces on campuses As California lawmakers negotiate a multibillion-dollar school bond, they should include plenty of money to green up asphalt-dominated schoolyards.