Our Corpsmembers are building the urban tree canopy of the future. By removing concrete, creating tree wells, and planting new trees chosen to support the local ecosystem and endure the changing climate, the trees we’ve planted across the region are cleaning the air and cooling the streets. This is especially important in under-resourced communities that are disproportionately affected by the urban heat island effect due to historic inequities in tree coverage and green spaces. Jonathan Mason, Senior Program Manager at our East LA site in Boyle Heights, explains that “concrete, asphalt, iron, steel, and all the hardscape parts of our environment absorb heat really well; glass reflects heat back onto those hardscapes making it a lot harder for us to cool down the built environment with air conditioning. So, by bringing in nature, planting trees, and doing green-scaping where there was once hard-scaping helps reduce the urban heat island effect.” Through the California Strategic Growth Council’s Transformative Climate Communities Program, we’re on track to plant 2000 trees in Northeast Los Angeles alone.  We are proud of our part in keeping our communities clean and green!

To learn more about our urban greening projects across Los Angeles, join us on June 1st at the LA State Historic Park for the Corps’ 2023 Spring Luncheon Celebration!