Hosted by Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA), and taught by Frank Niccoli, this class will address proper care, maintenance and irrigation techniques for promoting the long-term vitality and growth of trees in water-conserving gardens.

Learn more and sign up.

Urban Permaculture Training Course in East Palo Alto

Course begins June 11th

The Urban Permaculture Institute of San Francsico is teaming up with Self Sufficient Life in East Palo Alto to offer an Urban Permaculture Design Training. The course runs June 11th through August 23rd. Learn more here.

Our Palo Alto 2030 Summit: Help shape the City's Future

Sat. May 30, 8:30a - 5:30p

Mitchell Park Community Center - 3700 Middlefield

See the schedule. Register.

Do you have a vision for Palo Alto's future? The City wants to hear your thoughts.

Join the conversation about the future of Palo Alto at the "Our Palo Alto 2030" summit.

The Summit is free and open to the public.

June Canopy Tree Walk

Saturday, June 13, 10a - 12p

250 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto

Join Canopy and a local expert Arborist for a Tree Walk in the south University Avenue neighborhood.

We'll encounter a great variety of species: Southern Magnolia, Aristocrat Pear, Purple Beech, Dawn Redwood, English Yew and many others!

The walk begins at the Palo Alto Civic Center Plaza, 250 Hamilton Avenue.

Learn more and sign up.

Tree-themed Exhibit at Cantor Arts Center

"Arboreal Architecture: A Visual History of Trees"

Through July 20, 2015

"From the earliest stages of human history, trees have provided resources for civilization, symbolic structure to families, spatial logic for the scientific method, and inspiration to artists..."

Explore the power of trees through this wonderful collection at the Cantor Arts Center's Lynn Krywick Gallery. Learn more.

Palo Alto: bridging the canopy divide

The Palo Alto Weekly recently reported on the disparity in tree cover between north and south Palo Alto -- a disparity that the City has committed to resolve as part of its new Urban Forest Master Plan.

In March, Canopy partnered with the City and residents to plant over 30 trees in the Ventura neighborhood in south Palo Alto, and with the Kiwanis Club of Palo Alto to plant another 30 trees at Cubberley Community Center. We're excited to plant more trees in south Palo Alto in the planting seasons to come.

We're on the lookout for "tree champions" to help coordinate plantings in south Palo Alto neighborhoods. If you live in south Palo Alto and would like to get involved, email Michael at michael@canopy.org.

Palo Alto Adult School Summer Registration opens May 22

There are lots of learning opportunities at the Palo Alto Adult School!

Currently celebrating its 94th anniversary, Palo Alto Adult School provides classes for job seekers, English learners, parents, travelers, and hobbyists.

A few Spring classes are still available, and registration for summer quarter begins May 22nd. Classes start June 8th.

Learn more or register for a class today.

Canopy is honored to be the Palo Alto Adult School's Spring 2015 Community Partner.

Thank you to our Foundation supporters!

Canopy would like to thank the following institutions for generous grants received in April for classroom education, after-school enrichment programs, bilingual educational materials, and other important programs:

The Garden Club of Palo Alto

The John and Marcia Goldman Foundation

The Morgan Family Foundation

YWCA Donor of the Mid-Peninsula Donor Advised Fund

We are deeply grateful for all of their support!

Just for Fun

Forest ecology: trees share resources through the "wood-wide web"

Especially in urban environments, we tend to think of trees as solitary, self-contained organisms.

This fun and informative article from the Scientific American blog reminds us that, like any living organism, trees are part of a community!

Connect with Canopy:

Support Canopy:

Canopy Online Resources:

Agueda and Diamond practicing their pruning skills.

Diamond and Hector help plant trees in Palo Alto's Ventura neighborhood.

Approved! Palo Alto's New Urban Forest Master Plan

On Monday, May 11th, The Palo Alto City Council adopted the new Urban Forest Master Plan (UFMP).

From the desk of Catherine Martineau Our thanks go to Mayor Holman and to all council members for adopting the plan and for a very thoughtful discussion.

This landmark document has been many years in the making and represents an important step towards a comprehensive, long-term approach to managing one of the City's most beloved and characteristic assets -- its trees.

Canopy initiated this effort, and played an instrumental role obtaining the resources to conduct the street tree inventory and analysis as well as the overall neighborhood canopy cover study. We worked tirelessly with city staff and consultants to ensure that the community be heard and that all all threats to city trees be addressed.

The Council asked city staff to complete several follow-up tasks to further strengthen the plan. They will hold a study session within 6-9 months with a second iteration of the UFMP to allow more discussion of topics including:

Native tree and plant species
Expanding canopy cover in south Palo Alto neighborhoods
The role of agricultural landscaping
Support for wildlife habitat
Development impacts on trees

We look forward to continuing to work on these issues with Palo Alto Urban Forester Walter Passmore and our colleagues from Audubon Society, California Native Plants Society, Acterra, and Sierra Club.

To learn more:

For background about the UFMP, see the City Manager's Report to the Council, and the UFMP webpage.
See Council Action Minutes from the meeting.
Read about other cities taking this important step for long-term forest management.

Please drop me a line with your questions and comments. I'd love to hear from you.

Sincerely,

CM Signature Small

Catherine Martineau

Executive Director

Thank you for an inspiring SVGives 2015!

We are deeply grateful for the generosity of so many friends and supporters during the SVGives online day of giving!

A special thank you to the Canopy Board for matching every donation dollar-for-dollar, and to the Sand Hill Foundation and the SVCF Donor Circle for the Environment for providing additional matching funds.

Thanks to your generous support, we can continue our work to:

Plant drought-tolerant trees to renew and grow the urban forest
Care for thousands of young trees to ensure thy survive and thrive
Educate and engage hundreds of children, youth, and adults to help grow healthy trees and healthy communities.

Thank you so much for making it all possible!

With gratitude,

The Canopy team

Kudos to volunteers and planting leaders for a fantastic season!

With your help, we continue to grow and nurture the urban forest

A huge thank you to all of the volunteers who helped us plant and care for trees during our fall and spring planting season!

Your hard work helped accomplish so much:

270 new trees planted in schools, parks, and neighborhoods during 13 planting events
2,204 young trees cared for during 44 tree care work days
309 planting volunteers
553 tree care volunteers

The trees you helped plant and care for will have positive impacts for decades to come, bringing clean air, shade, and a host of benefits to the whole community. Thank you!

Spring tree planting: Last chance, or wait for Fall

In our California climate, the best months for tree planting are October through March. The heat of summer threatens young trees, and makes it more difficult for them to establish successfully.

If you still need to plant trees this spring, do it as soon as possible! Better yet, hold off until fall if you can, and plant in October.

Time to start summer watering!

Especially during this time of drought, remember to conserve water and preserve trees. Mature trees are a long-term investment that provide myriad environmental and public health benefits. If lost, a mature tree takes decades to replace.

During the hot, dry summer months, even mature drought-tolerant trees may need a drink to stay healthy, and young trees should be watered efficiently, too. Learn more about trees and water, including how to keep trees healthy without wasting water.

One important exception to summer watering: native oaks trees do not need summer water, and may even be harmed by it.

Look up the watering requirements of your tree in the Canopy Tree Library.

Tales of Trees and Drought...

Beginning next month, we're starting a new series to explore questions of trees, tree care, drought, and water.

Do you have a tree-related drought question?Send it our way! Email maika@canopy.org.

New at Canopy

Join Canopy's Team of Education Volunteers! Registration now open.

Three consecutive Wednesdays:

August 5th, 12th, and 19th, 4:30 - 7pm

Learn more or sign up today.

Are you passionate about trees, nature, and education? Do you enjoy working with kids?

This three-part interactive training will prepare you to work as an Education Volunteer with Canopy, exploring the wonderful world of trees through hands-on science lessons with elementary and middle school students.

The free training will cover teaching methodology, cultural sensitivity, and three of Canopy's education modules.

Guest lecturers will bring education expertise with an emphasis on experiential learning.

Learn more or sign-up now.

Save the Date: Fall Planting Leader Training in September

Registration is also open for our 2015 Planting Leader Training.

Part one (choose one date):
Thursday, September 17th, 6-8pm
Friday, September 18th, 6-8pm

Part two: Saturday, Sept. 19th, 9am - 12pm

Canopy's amazing volunteer Planting Leaders are integral to our success engaging residents, planting and caring for hundreds of trees each year, and creating greener, healthier communities.

This fall, we welcome you to join the crew!

Learn more or sign up for the workshop.

Hard work and inspiration for Teen Urban Foresters

There are many exciting things happening with Canopy's youth employment and leadership program -- starting with a new name!

These hardworking East Palo Alto high school students, formerly known as the Youth Staff, are now the Teen Urban Foresters (TUFs). Two new additions to the team have been "digging in" and working hard this season: Agueda Chavez-Gama and Hector Torres. Both are sophomores from East Palo Alto Phoenix Academy (EPAPA) and love working outside for their community.

Hector likes the way that trees transform the environment and atmosphere of a place. "When a place has beautiful, colorful, great big trees," he says, "I believe it makes a whole place more welcoming."

Agueda appreciates that her work with Canopy will have a long-term impact. "The time planting a tree can greatly affect the way people live for hundreds of years," she says.

All five TUF members have been busy planting, pruning, and caring for trees, as well as attending training sessions and special events.

A few weeks ago, they received a special invitation to attend the Goldman Environmental Prize Ceremony in San Francisco.

TUF member Diamond Allen was inspired. He said the event helped him realize that, "I can change things in my own neighborhood that I see wrong. It inspired me to inspire others and to start a chain of change in my own community."

TUF member Elizabeth Perez was also motivated by the powerful stories. "I really connected with [prizewinner Berta Caceres] and the values she was advocating for," Elizabeth wrote. "I want to do something to make a change and to help those in need."

Canopy plants and cares for trees where people need them the most. We bring the life-giving benefits of trees to the schools, neighborhoods, and public spaces of the San Francisco Mid-Peninsula.

Canopy is proud to be affiliated with: