Thank you for your support in 2022, and thank you for your partnership as we continue the growth and transformation for the Midpeninsula’s urban tree canopy in 2023!

Your generous donations and support make Canopy’s work possible. Our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has given and to all those who help grow healthy trees and healthy communities!

We're excited to grow Canopy’s work together with you in 2023. Our plans include:

• Plant and steward trees in East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, and North Fair Oaks
• Provide leadership and job opportunities to young people of color
• Expand tree-based lessons for K-12 students
• Equip residents as urban forest stewards
• Advocate for nature-based solutions to foster climate resilience and environmental equity

And so much more. You can read more about our accomplishments this past year and plans for 2023 in our newly released impact report.

In Fall 2022, Catherine Martineau announced that she will retire from Canopy at the end of February 2023. Catherine's 18 years at the helm of Canopy have been transformative, and we're eager to give her the Canopy send-off she deserves.

Stay tuned for opportunities to celebrate, honor, and thank Catherine for nearly two decades of nurturing our communities and their trees!

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 the planting of locally native and drought-tolerant species, which are vital for sustaining the city’s urban forest. It also implements a number of changes to removals of protected trees, protected tree care and maintenance, public notification requirements, and permit appeals.

Learn more about these changes that will protect Palo Alto’s mature, abundant, and vibrant tree canopy at our website.

Contact info@canopy.org for more information about similar tree protection ordinances throughout Canopy’s service area.

Volunteers from Ivy and Pearls Foundation plant trees in south Palo Alto in November 2022.

By Sue Dremann, Palo Alto Weekly

Four local environmental nonprofits with a long history of advocating for the protection of the mountains and bay that all residents enjoy today are now taking on a new threat: climate change, working to evolve along with the threats that could damage the environments they worked so hard to save.

Each has filled a different niche in protecting the Peninsula's natural environment, from advocacy to land held in trust, the regreening of the urban forest and environmental education.

Read profiles on Green Foothills, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Environmental Volunteers, and Canopy and how each organization is adapting to address climate change at Palo Alto Online.

Are you interested in learning how to engage with community level actions that address climate change? 

UC Climate Stewards is a 12-week climate change education and service course for adults that combines online learning and dynamic field experiences to explore the interconnectedness of Santa Clara County's natural resources and human communities. The course includes a native tree monitoring project at Santa Teresa County Park in San Jose and will be co-taught by one of Canopy’s Community Forestry School certified graduates, Ian McDermod.

Learn more about this course offered by Santa Clara County Parks in partnership with University of California.

Tune in on Thursday, January 12 from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. for Code Red for Humanity: Pathways to Healthy Electric Cities, a virtual summit to educate and equip Bay Area policymakers and community advocates to equitably transition our cities to be fully electric as a necessary step to achieve climate goals and promote better health.

Please join us in welcoming Aubrey Knier, Canopy’s newly hired Tree Care Coordinator, to the team! A native of North Carolina, Aubrey earned a master’s degree in environmental management from Duke University, where she concentrated on ecosystem science and conservation and completed a thesis on forest responses to elevated CO2.

Know someone interested in working with Canopy to plant and care for trees where they’re needed the most? Please share our current job openings:

Operations Manager

Tree Technology Intern

Sat. 1/14/2023

Palo Alto Tree Walk | RSVP

Mon. 1/16/2023

 Annual MLK Day of Service. Contact volunteer@canopy.org for more details and to get involved.

Sat. 2/4/2023

South Palo Alto Tree Initiative Planting

Sat. 2/11/2023

Mountain View Tree Walk | RSVP

Grants

Arbor Day Foundation and Microsoft for funding a planting event at La Scuola in East Palo Alto

Google Ecology or general operating support

Lockheed Martin for Healthy Trees, Healthy Kids! Initiative

SVCF Donor Circle for the Environment for Teen Urban Forester Internship program

SVCF Environment Fund for general operating support 

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for general operating support 

Anonymous grant 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.