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Issue link: http://ranchandcoast.uberflip.com/i/1529963
Rooted in Re-(urban)forestation In Dr. Seuss' e Lorax, the adorable title character proclaims, "I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees." And very much like a real-life Lorax, Tree San Diego does just that. For ten years, the nonprofit has been working to re-green San Diego's urban areas — a true nonprofit embodiment of that adorable little orange guy's proclamation. "Obviously, our mission is to expand, serve, and forest, and somewhat speak for the trees, but also provide a holistic approach to investment and implementation of programs that bring natural solutions to the built environment," says Elektra Fike-Date, Tree San Diego's executive director. Naturally, this means planting trees, but that's just the beginning. "We're looking at the sustaining elements of that mission, which involves a much broader approach, and that means investing in the people and the workforce that take care of our urban forest and urban greening installments. It means looking at what policies are in place, locally, regionally, and federally, and then also exploring the planning piece of that for the future." Tree San Diego actively engages the community with education and volunteer as well as paid opportunities that foster a deeper sense of understanding and value of our urban forests, as well as developing skills for planning, planting, and caring for the city's urban forest. Funding comes primarily from state grants, but Fike-Data expects that private and corporate donations will grow increasingly important to ensure that Tree San Diego can continue to do its work, from connecting those looking to add trees with growers who have excess trees to advising for-profit entities looking to achieve specified environmental goals and municipalities that want to invest in urban greening. And then, the real work is just beginning. >> @ranchandcoast RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2024 53 Tree San Diego offers volunteer and paid opportunities to support urban greening efforts Tree San Diego has planted more than 10,000 trees since its inception ten years ago "We actually have a lot of volunteers that want to water trees, plant trees, care for trees, and take care of their local green infrastructure," says Tree San Diego executive director Elektra Fike-Data