20 Years of Canopy
August 2017 TreEnews
In this issue:
Last chance to sign up! EdTraining
Connect kids with nature
Next Week: Education Leader Training
Three consecutive Wednesdays in August:
August 16, 23, and 30, 10am - 12:30pm
Are you passionate about trees, the environment, and education? Do you enjoy working with youth?
This three-part interactive training will prepare you to work as a volunteer Education Leader with Canopy, exploring the wonderful world of trees through hands-on science lessons with elementary, middle, and high school students.
From Under the Tree Book Readings to Tree Identification, you'll help kids connect with nature and inspire the next generation of environmental stewards.
More Coming up at Canopy TreeCare
Tree Care
Community Tree Care Workday
Saturday, August 19, 9am - 12pm
Willow Oaks School, 620 Willow Road, Menlo Park
Help keep young school trees thriving! This workday will consist of removing weed cloth, adding mulch, and adjusting stakes. All tools and equipment provided.
Trees and Birds of the Badlands
Tree Walk: Trees & Birds of the Baylands
Saturday, September 9, 10am - 12pm
Meet at Environmental Volunteers' EcoCenter, 2560 Embarcadero, Palo Alto
Join expert arborist  Ellyn Shea and expert birder Toby Goldberg as Canopy and Environmental Volunteers partner to offer a Saturday walk through the Baylands. We'll discuss tips and tricks for bird watching and learn about the essential habitats that trees and plants of the Baylands provide.
Planting trees greens our community
Workshop: Planting Leader Training
Part 1: Tues. 9/26  or Thurs. 9/28, 6-8pm
Part 2: Saturday, 9/30, 9am - 12pm
Want to volunteer outside, meet neighbors, and bring more shade and greenery to our community? Join Canopy's tree planting team!
In this two-part workshop, you'll learn the ins and outs of tree planting technique and how to care for newly planted trees.
Afterwards, you'll have the chance to put your new skills to work, guiding fellow volunteers at Canopy tree planting events throughout the community.  No prior experience necessary!
Stay tuned..."Oak-tober" details coming soon!
Venerable Palo Alto Oak
Mark your calendars! This fall, Canopy is thrilled to bring you our very first "Oak-tober" festivities!
Stay tuned for details about tree talks, tree plantings, and a chance to participate in a hands-on pilot of The Great Oak Count.
The Great Oak Count is a refresh of Canopy's original Oakwell Survey , completed in 2001. This refresh and other  Oaktober events are the first phase in Canopy's long-term project to restore ecologically critical and cultural significant oak trees to our Mid-Peninsula landscape.
Stay tuned for more ways to get involved.  Questions or comments? Email Elise Willis, Community Forestry Program Manager, at elise@canopy.org.
Community Happenings PAL
Pacific Art League
Pacific Art League accepting submissions for "Landscape, Seascape and Cityscape" October exhibit
Calling all artists! The Pacific Art League (PAL), a cornerstone of Palo Alto's vibrant arts community, is accepting submissions for several upcoming exhibits.
Canopy is excited to partner with PAL on their October Exhibit, "Landscape, Seascape and Cityscape," which will showcase artists with a high sensibility of how to connect with their surroundings.  Trees play a key role in creating a sense of place in our landscapes and cities, and this is a great opportunity to submit your tree-themed artwork of any medium.
Submission deadline is Thursday, September 7. The exhibit will open during PAL's "First Friday" celebration on October 6.
Maximize your impact
Ready to make a greater impact in your community? Apply for the Community Advocates Leadership Academy
Strengthen your leadership skills and learn with other change-makers to make a greater impact.
The Community Advocates Leadership Academy (CALA) trains people who are working locally to make a difference on the environmental and social challenges of our time.
Participants meet one Saturday a month for half day classes in rotating venues throughout San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Classes explore influencing electeds, leadership practices, goal setting, and more.
The program is spearheaded by Committee for Green Foothills, and key organizers include the County of San Mateo's Health System and Sustainable San Mateo County. Skills gained in the course can be applied to effectively advocate for any issue you're passionate about--including urban trees!
Canopy's very own Uriel Hernandez participated in CALA last year. He says the program taught him how to speak up for his community. "The program opened my eyes to being a community advocate. My view of citizen engagement changed."
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but should be submitted as soon as possible. T he first class session is September 9th.
Two Internship Opportunities Intern
Urban Forester Intern
PAID: Urban Forester Intern
The Urban Forester Intern (UFI) plays a key role in Canopy's work to care for and grow the urban forest.
Under the supervision of Canopy staff, the UFI cares for young Canopy-planted trees in East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and surrounding communities. The UFI also leads  Canopy's high school interns and volunteers in tree care work, including pruning, watering, mulching, adjusting stakes, and removing weeds.
This is a great opportunity to build leadership skills while making a positive impact in the community and environment. T he ideal candidate is self-motivated, flexible, and enjoys working with youth and volunteers. Some experience with tree care or gardening is preferred, but not required. In-depth training will be provided.
Time commitment is 18-25 hours per week, September - December 2017, with the potential to continue into 2018. Compensation is $14-16 per hour, depending on experience.
Help build our online community
VOLUNTEER: Digital Outreach Internship
Canopy is looking for a creative, self-motivated, and energetic individual to help engage our friends and partners on social media.
Under the supervision of Canopy staff, the Digital Outreach Intern will prepare and publish content to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and explore ways to deepen connections with Canopy's online community.
Time commitment is 10-15 hours per week for Fall 2017 semester, with the option to continue for multiple terms. This is a volunteer (unpaid) position, but a great chance to build experience and work with a fun, supportive team.
Highlights from the Field Highlights
Exploring trees

Summer "nature wellness walks" help students de-stress while exploring local trees.

This past summer, Canopy staff led 17 "Nature Wellness Walks" for PAUSD high school students as part of the student's Living Skills course.
During half-hour walks around the school campus and adjacent neighborhood, students explored local tree species, learned about tree benefits, and talked about the important connection between nature and wellness.
"It was wonderful to see the students engaged and relaxed outside," Canopy's Education Leader, Natalie Brubaker, reported afterwards.
"Not only did the students ask great questions about the trees, we also talked about how something as simple as a fifteen minute walk in a park or other green area can have big benefits for relieving stress and refreshing your brain."
In all, nearly 500 students participated in the walks this summer.  Following requests from Living Skills teachers, Canopy plans to continue this program during the school year.
TUFs ready to survey

Teen Urban Foresters survey East Palo Alto residents about trees and plantings in their community

As one of their final projects this season, our incredible crew of summer Teen Urban Foresters researched, designed, and piloted an East Palo Alto community survey about trees.
Their goal was to find out how East Palo Alto residents feel about the number and type of trees in their community, whether they would like a tree planted in their yard, and what factors would influence their decision to accept and care for a tree outside their home. They were also curious whether residents had heard about Canopy and our activities in East Palo Alto.
First, the TUFs learned about effective survey techniques from Canopy volunteer Rachel Wright, Director of Research at Sacred Heart Community Service. Next, TUFs crafted seven key questions, then headed to the YMCA in East Palo Alto to talk with residents and gather their thoughts.
Together, they successfully surveyed 50 residents, with some interesting and informative preliminary results.
From the Canopy Blog: Blog
Our Summer Travel Series Continues!
Uriel in the jungle

Follow Uriel into the Panamanian jungle as he tracks the path of the jaguar

Earlier this year, Uriel made his way from urban, drought-stricken California down to the cloud forests of Panama, where constant dampness, plentiful mud, and a jungle teaming with life set the scene for a challenging but unforgettable journey.
Uriel was volunteering in the MamonĂ­ Valley Preserve for an organization called Kaminando, which is studying jaguar populations in the Preserve for the first time. Uriel's mission was to replace batteries and install fresh memory cards in 18 cameras used to track and identify jaguars throughout the forest.
Cherry blossoms

Witness Japan in bloom as Elise takes us to 4 Japanese cities during the height of cherry blossom season

Last spring, Elise and her husband headed off to Japan in search of sushi, Totoro...and cherry blossoms!
A certified arborist with a background in forestry, Elise couldn't get enough of the beautiful gardens, tree-lined trails, and blossoming foliage of Tokyo, Hakone, Osaka, and Kyoto.

P.S. Are you travelling this summer? Keep an eye out for interesting trees! We'd love to see your photos and hear your stories. Send to info@canopy.org.
July Tree Gifts and Dedications
Since July 1, 2017
Steve Blashka
in honor of Courtney Schumm
Special thanks to generous foundation funders over the past year:
Visit us online - Canopy Tree Library - Find an Arborist  - Support our Work
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Canopy 20 Years
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.

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