CANOPY BLOG

Indira Selvakumaraswamy

By Shannon McDonald on September 11, 2020

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Meet Bless Romo, Canopy’s new Communications & Marketing Coordinator

Canopy joins communities in celebrating trees for California Arbor Week 2024

Meet Tania Cooley, Canopy’s new Environmental Educator

Meet Desiree Humphers, Canopy’s new Adult Education Coordinator

Growing Together: Reflecting on My First Six Months at Canopy

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Last week, 8 volunteers from a corporate group pla

Last week, 8 volunteers from a corporate group planted 5 trees in Palo Alto. Thank you to these volunteers for their time and care in helping increase our tree canopy in the Midpeninsula!
If your corporate group would like to volunteer with Canopy, please visit the link in our bio to learn more about organizing corporate team building tree care or tree planting events.

Canopy is hiring a Community Organizer! We're look

Canopy is hiring a Community Organizer! We're looking for a passionate organizer to help build a movement toward environmental equity in Midpeninsula communities in the Bay Area, with a special emphasis on East Palo Alto. This position will lead an ambitious outreach and engagement program that addresses climate change issues in historically under-resourced communities. Learn more at the link in our bio!
🌳Compensation: $60,000/year
🌳Hybrid, partially working from home, our Palo Alto office, and in the community
🌳Full-time, 40 hours per week position Tuesday through Saturday with occasional evening events

To celebrate Earth Month and National Arbor Day, C

To celebrate Earth Month and National Arbor Day, Canopy invites you to our upcoming tree walk and tree planting events! At Canopy’s guided tree walks, a certified arborist leads participants through neighborhood routes, sharing fun facts and tree care tips. At Canopy's tree planting events, you can help plant a tree in your community with the guidance of our Tree Team. Our upcoming events include:
🌳4/20 Mountain View: Arbor Day Celebration and Mayor's Tree Planting
🌳4/20 Mountain View: Tree Walk
🌳4/20 North Fair Oaks: Earth Day Tree Planting and Trash Cleanup **new meeting location at Garfield Community School**
🌳4/27 Palo Alto: National Arbor Day Community Tree Planting
🌳5/4 East Palo Alto: Caminata Guiada / Bilingual Tree Walk
Visit the link in our bio for more information and tree walk sign-ups.

Throwback to Wangari Maathai's visit to East Palo

Throwback to Wangari Maathai's visit to East Palo Alto for Canopy's 10th Anniversary Celebration Gala in 2006! Maathai was a Kenyan environmental and social activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1977, she founded the @greenbeltmovement, an environmental organization that works at the intersection of women's rights, environmental conservation, and tree planting. As a community-based urban forestry organization, Canopy admires Maathai's community-engagement and advocacy with Kenyan women to steward their forests and foster community power. These photos are from Wangari Maathai's keynote speech at our 10th Anniversary Celebration Gala where we launched our East Palo Alto Tree Initiative with a ceremonial tree planting.

Tickets are going fast for our annual benefit - Th

Tickets are going fast for our annual benefit - The Power of Trees: Growing a Movement! Together we’ll experience the “behind the leaves” impact urban trees give through stronger community bonds, better health outcomes, more career opportunities, and greener, more beautiful neighborhoods. You can help bring these powerful benefits of trees and urban forestry to our Midpeninsula communities. Reserve your seat at the link in our bio!
🌳 The Power of Trees: Growing a Movement
🌳 Sunday, April 14, 2024
🌳 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
🌳 Mitchell Park Community Center, Palo Alto

Last Saturday, our Teen Urban Foresters (TUFs) suc

Last Saturday, our Teen Urban Foresters (TUFs) successfully planted 9 trees at the @paloaltofamilyymca for our TUF Alumni Tree Planting. Thank you to everyone who participated, including 7 TUF alumni! If you'd like to learn more about our TUF program, please visit the link in our bio.

Question 2: What would you say to your younger sel

Question 2: What would you say to your younger self or any young women navigating the environmental field? This month we asked the women of Canopy to reflect on how they want to inspire young women to continue Canopy’s work in the community.
🌳 Karina: Moving to East Palo Alto from Mountain View, I definitely felt the environmental injustice. Going to a MV school where there were trees everywhere that I would play under was a privilege that I did not know I had. Growing and caring for the tree canopy in EPA is what drives me and holds a special place in my heart.
🌳 Juanita: Be comfortable with not knowing! It's okay to not have all the answers right away. In the words of Alice “Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.” (Alice in Wonderland) You'll have your whole life to explore what makes you, YOU!
🌳 Arlene: Remember that the same care, love and concern that you extend to the natural wild world should also be extended towards our friends, families, community, and ourselves.
🌳 Aubrey: Science has space for you and it needs your emotions, empathy, creativity, passion, and personality. These attributes complement your intellect, not invalidate it.
🌳 Evany: There's a lot of routes to enter the environmental field. It's also never too late to join it. Many skills from various other sectors can translate into the environmental field. So in reality, you don't need to know about nature. This field is more forgiving because you can learn as you go and find where you can fit in. It's all about passion for the environment.
🌳 Ally: Follow your heart! No matter what your skills are, or what lifestyle you prefer, there's a way to make it work while pursuing your passion.
🌳 Indira: To my younger self, I would say: "Get involved (in any capacity) NOW." Many a time, I have wished that I had gotten involved deeply in the environmental field (in any capacity) much earlier than I have,
🌳 Maya: I would tell my younger self that you're very capable of understanding the sciences, and not to give up. There will be ignorant people who tell you latinx people aren't built for the sciences, but you will prove them wrong.
#canopytrees #environmentalnonprofit

Which environmental issue drives you the most and

Which environmental issue drives you the most and why? This month we asked the women of Canopy to reflect on the issues that drive them to protect our environment and community trees.
🌳 Karina: Moving to East Palo Alto from Mountain View, I definitely felt the environmental injustice. Going to a MV school where there were trees everywhere that I would play under was a privilege that I did not know I had. Growing and caring for the tree canopy in EPA is what drives me and holds a special place in my heart.
🌳 Juanita: I am driven by the impact that policies / injustices have on people, particularly those who belong to BIPOC communities. I firmly believe that everyone should have equal opportunities to enjoy the outdoors, regardless of their background or situation.
🌳 Arlene: Environmental justice issues that center community care and wellbeing are what drive me the most, including safe and affordable housing, equitable access to green/open space, and climate change adaptation. These three issues can offer solutions that can enhance the environment, and directly improve the living conditions of our most vulnerable communities/groups of people.
🌳 Aubrey: The loss of our forests. Trees shape our ecosystems, atmosphere, resources, health, culture, society, and joy. The consequences of their loss have been disproportionately placed on marginalized communities. Trees have the power to be our best climate solution for all.
🌳 Evany: Deforestation and loss of biodiversity. Forests and nature are building blocks of the world. I believe many issues can be solved or at least alleviated with the presence of nature and trees.
🌳 Ally: Habitat loss/degradation. Animals can't advocate for themselves, but they are drastically impacted by the environmental decisions of humans.
🌳 Indira: Climate change -because of the various impacts this has on the different parts of our ecosystem
🌳 Maya: They're all so connected. My love of nature and passion for intact habitats to support wildlife does not trump my desire to bring positive experiences with green space to folks who have not had the privilege to do so. People and wildlife need healthy environments to live in.

Thank you to our board members for weighing in on

Thank you to our board members for weighing in on the issues that drive them to protect our environment and support Canopy's work to plant and care for trees in Midpeninsula communities for the benefit of all. Question 1: Which environmental issue drives you the most and why? Question 2: What would you say to your younger self or any young women navigating the environmental field?

🌳 Mar Y Sol: Global Warming, the impact on our ecosystems affected by it is noticeably sad. Everything and anything matters as long as you make it your issue, you have a voice and you have power.
🌳 Holly: The issue that drives me the most is climate change. I worked on carbon sequestration policy more than twenty-five years ago, and though we've learned a lot since then, the need to address climate change is more urgent than ever.
Q2: I'd say to emphasize all the connections and linkages between climate change and other environmental and social issues. It's not just about how much carbon trees can sequester. If we plant trees in a neighborhood, they will sequester carbon, but they will also cool buildings and streets, help prevent water pollution and soil erosion, clean the air, reduce noise, provide wildlife habitat, encourage walking and biking, improve mental health, and create beautiful spaces for children to play and for people to gather. We're learning more about these benefits every year!
🌳 Kirsten: Biggest environmental concern: soil degradation and loss. Soil is essential to sustain forests and agriculture. It is an efficient carbon sink and helps combat and mitigate climate change. It’s a rich ecosystem with a high level of biodiversity with hundreds of thousands of species in a handful of healthy soil. Advice to younger self: have a mentor or support team and connect regularly.
#canopytrees #BayArea #SiliconValley #environmentalnonprofit #naturalenvironment #naturalresources #urbantrees #urbanforest #urbanforestry #ArbLife #Arborists #Arborist #ArboristsofInstagram #Arboriculture #tree #trees #TreeCare #TreesPlease #tree_enthusiast #treesofinstagram #treestagram #treelove #treelovers

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