COVID-19 Policies and Safety Protocols

During the COVID-19 pandemic, protecting the health and well-being of our volunteers, staff, and community is our highest priority at Canopy. These safety protocols and policies are updated regularly to ensure that they comply fully with the latest public health guidelines and will be followed until further notice. Please read on to know more about our response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how we have adapted our programming.

View our Volunteer Self-Assessment Checklist and our Staff Self-Assessment Checklist that participants are required to review before each event.

Self-Evaluated Risk Assessment

  • Any staff and volunteers that are feeling sick or are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 are required to stay at home.
  • If staff or volunteers have contracted COVID-19 or made contact with someone who is sick, they must quarantine for at least 10 days, and test negative, before they are allowed to participate.
  • Staff and volunteers in an elevated risk category should consider the risks of working in public spaces; the primary activities are done outside.

Social Distancing

  • Masks are optional for staff and volunteers at outdoor events. We welcome staff and volunteers to wear masks if they need/want.
  • Canopy staff may travel together to project sites in the same vehicles. Staff must wear masks when traveling together in a vehicle. 
  • Registration for events will be done online before the event, no walk-ups allowed on the day of the event. Group size will be limited, and shift registration is first-come, first-served.

Hygiene

  • All staff and volunteers are required to practice good hygiene. Hand washing is available at some sites, and Canopy will provide hand sanitizer at all sites.

Safety Supplies

  • Staff and volunteers should bring their own work gloves and face mask. Canopy has some gloves that can be lent out for the day.
  • Canopy will have masks available for staff and volunteers at all outdoor events.
  • Canopy disinfects, washes, or leaves tools unused for 4+ days, per accepted protocols.
  • Wearing work gloves when holding tools is required. Tool sharing should be minimal.
  • All staff and volunteers will bring their own personal supplies, including a face mask, sunblock, water, snacks, etc. Sharing is not permitted.

Fieldwork Adaptations

  • Fieldwork (tree planting, tree care, tree surveys, etc) will be done through smaller events and limited numbers of volunteers. For now, we will rely more on our trained volunteers and partner volunteer groups, especially from the neighborhoods where each event is taking place.
  • We will have occasional opportunities for the general public to volunteer, but this will be limited until the pandemic situation improves. We will keep volunteers informed of events through our Volunteer Wire newsletter.
  • Because we follow County COVID-19 and CDC guidelines, we are confident that our volunteer fieldwork poses very low risk to staff, volunteers, and the public.
  • Air Quality check is an essential part of the staff and volunteer safety, and Canopy uses the Purple Air sensor index to help staff assess air quality. Canopy’s policy is to cancel public outdoor events if the AQI is 151 or higher but may cancel if AQI is between 101-150, depending on the activity and staff discretion.

Ongoing Monitoring

The staff at Canopy is continuing to monitor the COVID-19 virus and are tracking the following resources to stay up-to-date:

Any questions or concerns regarding these guidelines can be directed to [email protected].

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