Going Green in LA with Tree People

At Blink Mobility we care about the environment and love finding friends that do too! Spring is around the corner, and this is the perfect time to go green with Tree People, an organization that reforests burned wilderness and urban areas, and Blink Mobility, our 100% electric car sharing service.

Tree People was founded in 1973 by a concerned teenager, and today, it’s the largest environmental movement headquartered in southern California. More than three million people have taken part in Tree People’s environmental initiatives.

In the hot, dry autumn, southern California can be a tinder box, though fire is a threat all year round. Over 12.7 million, or 1 out of every 8, acres have burned in California since 2012. Thousands have lost their homes, memories, and even lives to California forest fires. When they burn, trees take with them our best defense against CO2 and greenhouse gases in the air. Many of the particulates in those gases also make people sick with allergies, asthma, COPD, and even lung cancer. The destruction of so many trees have an instant negative affect on air pollution.

Tree People is dedicated to reforesting burned areas. They also plant trees in school yards and participate in greening of neighborhoods. Anywhere concrete has taken over the landscape, Tree People plants trees, including fruit trees in food insecure neighborhoods.

Tree People states, “Through our on-the-ground research and educational programs, Tree People shares knowledge with policymakers, students and educators, and communities around the world.”

Tree People is creating vibrant, resistant communities through education. Their volunteers learn the importance of trees, water management, and how to create communities that can survive climate changes. Community members are put in charge of the decisions of how to revitalize their communities and what kind of trees should be planted.

Tree People educates children, parents, and teachers, with hands-on demonstrations such as the K-2 Virtual Enrichment Hour in which kids can get their hands dirty, literally, studying soil and moisture content. Moonlight Strolls to study flora at night are held for older kids and adults. Kids can even become foresters themselves, especially on school campus.

Their forestry program is broken up into three sections: urban foresting, mountain foresting, and campus foresting. Urban forestry centers around communities creating green spaces. Tree People enables environmentally stressed communities to clean up and prepare for how they will handle climate change when it comes. They plan trees, gardens, food, and fruit trees, and learn how to conserve water.

Around schools, Tree People is serious about campus forestry. They’ve given themselves some big goals: reducing particulate matter in the air with a healthy tree canopy, increasing storm water capture, improving public health, increasing community involvement, and enabling students to increase test scores and decrease mental health issues, all by keeping the air cleaner. Students and adults alike plant trees and greenery near schools to absorb CO2 and make the area safer for kids.

Mountain forestry takes on the enormous problem of land damaged through forest fires. Volunteers replant trees in the mountainous areas that are the lungs of California. These trees can help bring back destroyed wilderness and forests.

Keeping up and cleaning parks and trails is also part of what Tree People do. Whether it’s picnics, outings, hikes, or clean-up, Coldwater Canyon Park is kept clean and safe by Tree People volunteers. Guided Hikes and events like Once Upon a Canyon Night, an evening tour and cleanup, help raise money for Tree People to keep the canyon safe and usable for everyone.

Tree People also takes on policy decisions, working with local and state government to enact legislation for environmental causes. Their concentrations are green infrastructure (trees), blue infrastructure (water), and brown infrastructure (soil), keeping them all healthy to improve communities and make them climate change ready. Healthy soil is the secret to healthy trees, and healthy trees lead to healthy air.

Like Tree People, Blink Mobility is making Los Angeles greener and more sustainable. Our electric vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions, which means zero particulate matter in the air that causes illness and ozone destruction. We applaud organizations like Tree People and encourage you to also go green and plant a tree this spring!