July 2018 TreEnews

Introducing Canopy's
Community Forestry School
Canopy Planting Leaders at a training
In California, 80% of the population lives in urban areas, making city trees a vital part of daily life. What exactly is an urban forest and what does it do for us? What is happening with trees at the regional and local scale, and what is our role in stewarding this valuable environmental resource?

Join Canopy’s new Community Forestry School to dive into the fundamentals of urban forestry and learn about the ways you can bring the benefits of trees to local communities!

Each workshop will include an in-depth session on key topics of urban forestry and will conclude with an optional training to equip you with skills to work with us side-by-side to remedy local inequities in tree canopy cover and access to urban nature. Some topics include:

  • Policies and practices that shape the urban forest of the Midpeninsula
  • Greening school campuses to promote environmental literacy among the next generation
  • Citizen Science and re-oaking Silicon Valley
  • Tree selection and planting methods for proper establishment and survival of city trees
  • Advocacy efforts, resources, and master plans that support the urban forest

Fall Workshop Schedule:

Community Forestry 101
Saturday, August 25
Time: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Location: 3921 E Bayshore Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94303
Learn the fundamentals of urban forestry and ways to be involved in Canopy’s programs.

Engaging Youth in the Urban Forest
Saturday, September 22
Time: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Location: TBA
Learn about the landscape of environmental education in California and train to be an education volunteer at Canopy.

Native Oaks & Citizen Science
Saturday, October 6
Time: 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Location: TBA
Learn about the history and ecology of native oaks in California and train to be a Citizen Scientist to survey native oaks in Palo Alto.

Tree Planting Basics
Saturday, November 3
Time: 10:00 am to 1:30 pm
Location: TBA
Dig in and practice techniques for planting trees in an urban landscape. 

Celebration for Community Foresters
Saturday, December 8
Time: 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Location: TBA
Gather with community members, friends, and neighbors as we thank our volunteers--you!--for learning and working with us!

To support the cost of this workshop series, there is a suggested donation of $15 per workshop.
Volunteer Wire
Canopy volunteer holding a young tree
Are you a current Canopy volunteer or interested in volunteering? We invite you to sign up for Volunteer Wire , a monthly email where we share the latest volunteer opportunities with Canopy.

From this month’s Volunteer Wire:

Tree Care Work Days

Saturday, July 21, 2018
9:00am - 12:00pm
Brentwood Elementary School, 2086 Clarke Ave, East Palo Alto

Saturday, August 4, 2018
9:00am - 12:00pm
Cesar Chavez Elementary School, 2450 Ralmar Ave, East Palo Alto

Help maintain young trees and keep our urban forest happy and healthy! Join Canopy as we continue to provide much needed tree care at Ravenswood District schools. All tools and equipment will be provided. Contact Uriel Hernandez at Uriel@canopy.org with any questions .
#BlueTrees Photo Contest
Blue Tree at Kings Plaza in Palo Alto
Submit your photo by July 23 for a chance to win an arborist consultation!
Share your photos of Kon Dimopoulos's environmental art installation on Instagram using the hashtags #cpapublicart , #bluetrees , and #canopytrees and include your own personal commitment to the local environment in the caption. Last day to submit is July 23, 2018.

Winning photos will be announced at the Great Oak Count event on July 28, 2018. The first place submission wins a young native oak tree and consultation with an arborist. Follow along with the Public Art Program’s Instagram .
Canopy Tree Walks
Green apples on a tree branch
Tree Walk: Edible Urban Forest
Saturday, August 11, 2018
10:00am - 12:00pm
Johnson Park, corner of Hawthorne and Kipling, Palo Alto
Join us for a special one-way tree walk from Johnson Park to Gamble Garden. We'll see a great variety of trees while learning about the delicious fruits they provide! This walk is sponsored by Canopy, Slow Food South Bay , Transition Palo Alto , South Bay Bioregional Hub, and Silicon Valley Permaculture Guild.

Please note that this is a one-way tree walk. The Canopy van will be available to shuttle attendees back to the starting point, about 1 mile.


Meet Canopy's Admin Associate!
Katie Rummel
We’re thrilled to welcome Katie Rummel to the Canopy team!

Katie came to Canopy as a former AmeriCorps member with Habitat for Humanity and has a background in environmental education, administration, and program management. We asked her to share a bit about herself:

What is your role with Canopy and what are you most excited about?
I am happily settling in to my role as Canopy's Administrative Associate. I am excited about this role, and to be part of this organization, because I feel that Canopy has a special place within the community. I am also very much looking forward to engaging with our volunteers and supporters, and learning more about this area. I am grateful to have the opportunity to work alongside Canopy as a resource and advocate for urban forestry in our community.

From the Canopy Blog
Tree branch extending towards the sky with green leaves and sun filtering through.
Summer Tree Care Tips

This summer, take action to ensure your trees thrive over the warm and dry months! Follow Canopy’s four summer tree care tips for happy and healthy trees:
  1. Water deeply and infrequently to conserve water while preserving trees
  2. Replenish mulch
  3. Prune for strong growth
  4. Inspect overall tree health.

Giant Sequoia tree at Sequoia National Park
Tree Spotlight: Giant Sequoia

In this Tree Spotlight installment, we learn about the Giant Sequoia ( Sequoiadendron giganteum ), one of nature’s skyscrapers. These majestic trees that call California home need constant sunshine to thrive and young saplings only sprout after a fire.

You can visit the sequoias and see their amazing height at Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park. Thank you to Galyna Vakulenko of the Carnegie Institute for Science's Rhee Lab for contributing this story.

Trees in the News
May the forest be with you
May the Forest Be With You!
Later this year NASA plans to launch GEDI, the first-of-its-kind satellite laser instrument that will be used to map the earth’s forests. The information revealed from the laser mapping will help researchers to better understand carbon resources and biodiversity across regions.

City skyscraper with motif of urban forest overlaid.
Urban forests store almost as much carbon as tropical forests
Cutting-edge laser scanning techniques are being used in London to understand the biomass of urban trees. The measurements “help to quantify the differences between urban and non-urban trees.” The results are resounding, carbon density in areas of London are equivalent to densities found in tropical forests!

Canopy is Hiring!
Canopy is on the lookout for a new development professional to lead the organization’s fundraising efforts and cultivate meaningful partnerships with Canopy’s generous individual and institutional supporters.

Help us spread the word! We encourage Canopy friends to share the job announcement with folks in their network.

July Tree Gifts and Dedications
Tree Gifts Hands FINAL
Since June 10, 2018

Marty and Judy Deggeller
in memory of Robert Dahlquist

Marty and Judy Deggeller
in memory of Tony Awaida

Suzanne Garadis
in honor of John Erving

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.

Canopy is proud to be affiliated with: