When Catherine Martineau took the helm of Canopy in 2004, it was a fledgling Palo Alto-centric nonprofit with one other part-time staff and a dedicated team of volunteer leaders. Catherine's energizing presence, can-do spirit, and natural curiosity quickly catalyzed new opportunities for the organization and its mission.

When Pat Foster, then Mayor of East Palo Alto, approached the Canopy board about planting trees to mitigate the alarming rates of childhood asthma in her city, the seed of Catherine’s legacy was planted. The resulting partnership with the City of East Palo Alto launched a new era of expanded Canopy tree planting, advocacy, and youth programs, one inspired by a vision of a day when everyone can step outside to walk, play, and thrive under the shade of healthy trees.

On March 19th, we hope you’ll join us—to raise a toast to Catherine and to the community that continues the impact she helped make possible!

The Canopy board has appointed an Interim Executive Team to take over the Executive Director's responsibilities starting on February 16. The team is composed of Kammy Lo, former board member and immediate past chair of the Canopy board; Shannon McDonald, Director of Operations; and Natalie Brubaker, Director of Special Projects. 

The interim team is working together to prepare the transition overlapping with Catherine until her last day on February 28. The team is anticipated to be in place until a new permanent executive director joins the Canopy team. Canopy’s Board of Directors retained Nancy Painter of Painter Executive Search to conduct the search and started working with her at the beginning of January.

A satellite photo tells the East Palo Alto tree canopy story powerfully, as pictures often do. The image is overlaid with jurisdiction lines for the cities of Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, and Menlo Park, with the tree canopy in each city highlighted in neon green. Much of Palo Alto and Menlo Park are covered in green, illustrating those cities’ 38 percent and 27 percent average tree canopy rates, respectively. By contrast, East Palo Alto looks mostly gray, with tree canopy covering just 13.5 percent of its land.

The satellite image is part of “From Gray to Green: An Urban Forest Master Plan for East Palo Alto.” The East Palo Alto City Council adopted the plan and updated tree ordinances in April 2022 with the goal of expanding the city’s tree canopy.

“It’s a dream come true,” says Catherine Martineau, Canopy executive director, of the master plan’s creation and adoption. “As the smallest city in Silicon Valley, with a largely BIPOC population, East Palo Alto has historically faced socioeconomic challenges rooted in systemic racism and disinvestment. Yet its city council adopted one of the most innovative urban forest master plans I’ve seen. This positions the city to expand an urban forest that is substantially underdeveloped compared to those in surrounding wealthier communities.”

Winter is the perfect time to plant, prune, and address problems with the trees in your yard, but are you familiar with your city’s tree protection ordinances? Read on for more information about the local ordinances designed to preserve and protect the urban forests throughout Canopy’s service area.

In June 2022, Palo Alto’s City Council voted to update the city’s Tree Protection Ordinance, the first substantive changes to the law since 2002. The updated ordinance protects more trees and promotes planting of locally native species and drought-tolerant species, which are vital for sustaining the city’s urban forest.

The East Palo Alto City Council adopted a visionary Urban Forest Master Plan and updated tree ordinances in April 2022 to expand the city’s tree canopy, clarify tree policies, and ensure long-term health benefits, climate resiliency, and biodiversity.

In 2022 the City of Mountain View revised their Tree Technical Manual and published a companion Guide to Trees for single family homes to help residents and businesses interpret city urban forest regulations and recommended tree management practices.

The City of Menlo Park has remarkable trees and tree-rich neighborhoods, but the city lacks an Urban Forest Master Plan and the ambitious Climate Action Plan requires no tree protection or planting. Find the city’s Heritage Tree Ordinances and other tree guidelines at the below link.

For more information about these tree protection ordinances and Canopy’s advocacy initiatives, contact Advocacy Associate Maya Briones at maya@canopy.org.

Please join us in welcoming Canopy’s newly hired Operations Manager Karina Soria Mendoza (she/her/ella) to the team! Karina brings a wealth of experience in nonprofit administration to the team, including an educational and professional background with Canopy partners East Palo Alto Academy and College Track. Learn more about Karina in her Canopy blog.

Sat. 2/11/2023

Mountain View Tree Walk, “The Body Language of Trees” | RSVP

Sat. 3/4/2023

 Branching Out community tree planting in Redwood City. Contact volunteer@canopy.org for more details and to get involved.

Sun. 3/5/2023

Palo Alto Arbor Week Celebration | Visit our website for more California Arbor Week activities in Canopy’s community.

Sat. 3/11/2023

Mountain View Arbor Day Planting. Contact volunteer@canopy.org for more details and to get involved.

Grants

Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation for general operating support

Sand Hill Angels for community outreach and youth education support

Yellow Chair Foundation for general operating support

Your tax-deductible gift to Canopy helps grow green, healthy communities where people and nature thrive.

Canopy's mission is to grow the urban forest in Midpeninsula communities for the benefit of all.

Our vision is a day when every resident of the Midpeninsula can step outside to walk, play, and thrive under the shade of healthy trees.