Executive Summary PDF

Theme 1 — Growing Urban Forests for Climate Resilience

Core takeaways

• Plantable space is the top constraint. Overhead lines, new electrification equipment, and crowded underground utilities limit sites. New development should be used to create space through clear standards, tree-friendly street details, in-lieu fees, rooftops/balconies, schoolyard greening, asphalt removal, and coordinated inspections.
• Update the species palette and care model. Selections should reflect heat, drought, and recycled-water use (including salinity). Watering and maintenance plans should evolve from establishment through maturity.
• Stabilize nursery supply. Consolidation and closures are reducing availability and quality; early pooled grow orders and municipal/distributed nursery models are needed.
• Prioritize mature tree preservation. Protecting and caring for existing large canopy delivers immediate climate and equity benefits while new plantings establish.
• Clarify governance. Urban forestry work is siloed across departments; it should be treated and funded as infrastructure.

Actions

• Create shared data fields in inventory tools (survival, condition, species performance) and a regional repository to compare results and keep species lists current.
• Publish a city-ready development standards packet (utility clearances, soil volumes, inspection checklists, in-lieu templates) and support local adoption.
• Form county buying groups to place advance grow orders; explore city/shared nurseries.
• Scale a private property planting and preservation program with tree care funding built in and preservation strategies and care for large, healthy trees.
• Embed mature canopy protection in capital projects and permitting.

Theme 2 — Bridging the Equity Gap / “Unusual Partners”

Core takeaways

• Cross-sector collaboration expands access to plantable space. Schools, childcare centers, faith campuses, and affordable housing sites can host trees where cooling is most needed.
• Design for co-benefits. Projects should deliver shade and air-quality gains alongside better learning environments, safer gathering spaces, and healthier housing.
• Align funding with collaboration and community time. Grants should reward multi-partner teams, longer timelines, and paid roles for community leaders and residents.

Actions

• Advocate grant-scoring changes that award points—and budget lines—for cross-sector projects and compensated community engagement.
• Establish MOUs with equity partners and community landowners (e.g. community centers, school districts, affordable housing developers) that have access to plantable space. MOUs should define goals, establish site access, outline co-benefits, and agree on maintenance.
• Use health and social indicators (e.g., heat illness, asthma, transit exposure), not canopy alone, to prioritize sites.
• Mobilize each sector’s communities—parents, congregants, tenants, elders, youth—for planting, care, and advocacy.

Theme 3 — From the Lab to the Planting Strip (Academic Collaboration)

Core takeaways

• Matchmakers who can connect academics with community orgs are key. . Timelines and incentives differ between researchers and practitioners; an institutional connector is needed to pair partners and steward partnerships across academic cycles. Successful models include community-focused centers within universities or designated regional “hubs” such as the LA Urban Research Center.
• Translate data into decisions. Make research findings accessible to practitioners. Existing datasets must be turned into simple tools that answer what to plant, where, how to water, and how to measure outcomes.

Actions

• Identify or establish Research–Practice matchmakers to broker partnerships, manage continuity across academic cycles, and ensure usable outputs. 
• Build multi-year student pipelines (capstones, interns, fellows) so projects and relationship) don’t restart every quarter. Reconcile that community work and academic deadlines do not normally coincide – thoughtful design is needed to aid this.
• Adopt shared data protocols and explore a privacy-aware repository that feeds maps, charts, and calculators (survival ROI, heat reduction, canopy change).
• Pair scientists with communications support to set a standard for action-focused deliverables – visuals, short memos, dashboards – rather than report-only outputs.

Theme 4 — From Urban Forestry to Community Forestry

 Core takeaways

• Practice norm: whenever possible, trees should be planted by community members — not only private landscapers — to build local skills, ownership, and durable care networks.
• Assets: trusted nonprofits, schools, youth programs, municipal allies, data tools, and culturally rooted leaders.
• Principles: share decisions with communities, pay community roles, build year-round involvement (not just event days), and work through schools, faith, and cultural institutions.

Actions

• Adopt Community Forestry Agreements (government–nonprofit–community MOUs) that set roles, compensation, maintenance, and data responsibilities.
• Build workforce and volunteer ladders from entry volunteers to stipended leaders to paid crews (ISA pathways, youth/apprenticeships, CFS, TUF, JFL).
• Use small-stock planting (1–5 gallon) where appropriate to increase volumes and participation, paired with robust establishment care.
• Support schoolyard heat and shade programs with clear targets, low-cost monitoring, and maintenance training (see, e.g. Green Schoolyards America).

Presentation Slides

• California Urban Tree Canopy Viewer & Change Analysis – CalFire and USFS
• Toward a More Resilient Campus Forest – Drew Brown
• Green Schoolyards America – Sharon Gamson Danks

Resources from Speakers

CalFire & USFS

• California’s urban canopy plan → take the survey! You can take the City Survey (if you represent a City) or the Community Survey if you have other ideas.
• California Urban Tree Canopy Data – this is the tool they shared in their presentation. You can view and download data.
• CAL FIRE’s new Urban & Community Forestry Hub Site

Stanford Land, Buildings & Real Estate

• Trees of Stanford webpage includes history, tree maps and walks, and much more. There is also a beautiful Trees of Stanford book by Ronald N. Bracewell.
• Stanford Arboretum Tree Report (May 2025)

Green Schoolyards America

The GSA website has a treasure trove of resources. A few highlights:

• California Schoolyard Tree Canopy Study – includes data from Sharon’s presentation, and a related policy brief and the clickable map
• Schoolyard Forest System® Resource Library – dozens of articles with how to info, rationale, curriculum ideas, etc.
• Introduction to Schoolyard Forests in the Context of Green Schoolyards, a recorded lecture

Workgroup 1 — Growing Urban Forests for Climate Resilience

California Urban Tree Canopy Viewer – provides statewide canopy change maps (2018–2022, with a planned 2025 update), with the ability to cross-reference with census/cultural data

UEFI’s Native CA Tree Range Maps – a digital mapping resource that defines the native distribution of California’s 95 native tree species

San Francisco Estuary Institute’s (SFEI) Resilient Landscapes, Urban Nature Resources – SFEI’s projects that show the relationships between urban spaces and nature, including reducing extreme heat, slowing down and filtering stormwater, improving physical and mental health, providing equitable access to nature and its benefits, and supporting local and regional biodiversity.

California Tree Palette for Schoolyard Forests – this tree palette (selection of trees) is intended for school districts, landscape architects, and school communities to easily select trees that are appropriate for a schoolyard setting and will thrive as temperatures rise due to climate change

Western Tree Failure Database – quantitative information on the mechanical failure of urban trees (trunk breaks, branch breaks, and uprootings)

Sunset Climate Zones – a guide to selecting plants suited to their local conditions. Unlike USDA hardiness zones, Sunset’s system accounts for multiple factors—including winter lows, summer highs, rainfall, wind, and humidity—offering a more complete picture of a region’s climate

Leaf Area Index (LAI) – LAI helps quantify the density and coverage of tree canopies across urban areas to assess tree canopy coverage, monitor vegetation health, and plan new plantings. It also helps estimate cooling effects, carbon storage, and stormwater interception, guiding strategies to improve urban environmental quality.

Workgroup 2 — Bridging the Equity Gap / “Unusual Partners”

California Healthy Places Index (HPI) – a data and policy platform that scores California communities on a comprehensive set of factors related to health, including access to healthcare, education, housing, and the environment

Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) – a framework for organizational change, which uses a four-part cycle to visualize, normalize, organize, and operationalize to achieve racial equity in government institutions

Workgroup 3 — From the Lab to the Planting Strip (Academic Collaboration)

Panelist slides

• Erica Spotswood, Second Nature Ecology + Design
• Nicole Ardoin, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
• Sharon Gamson Danks, Green Schoolyards America

Community collaboration “matchmakers” at Stanford

If you’re looking for academic/community partnerships, these can be places to start at Stanford. Many universities have similar bodies. Don’t be afraid to cold call or email!

• Haas Center for Public Service – one contact there is Brandon Reynante, Director of Community Engaged Learning in Environmental Sustainability, who joined the symposium.
• Stanford Impact Labs – an initiative that connects Stanford researchers with leaders in government, business, and nonprofits to develop evidence-based solutions to social challenges in education, public health, climate, and criminal justice
• Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment – brings together faculty and researchers from all seven Stanford schools to tackle complex issues such as climate resilience, planetary health, and ecosystem sustainability
• Doerr school of sustainability – unites Stanford’s interdisciplinary departments and programs to address global environmental topics such as climate change, energy systems, and environmental justice with the aim to develop scalable solutions
• Office of Community Engagement – fosters collaboration between Stanford and neighboring communities in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties

Academia/research/consultancy groups that panelists have worked with:

• Center for Cities + Schools at UC Berkeley – Interdisciplinary, action-research center linking the fields of city planning and K-12 education. Focuses on K-12 civic youth engagement and public policy research through collaborations between community orgs and university researchers.
• GreenInfo Network – data visualization and communications consultancy that works with public interest clients whose missions focus on environment, public health, education, and social justice. Create maps, data, and websites to support public interest communications.
• Tools for Engaging Landowners Effectively (TELE) – Helps orgs apply social science principles/research to communication strategies in order to reach and influence their audiences more effectively. Originally designed for communication with landowners to promote conservation initiatives on private lands, but now more general—helps orgs identify target audiences and message to them by creating research-backed communication plans.

Local/regional collaboratives:

• Healthy Parks, Healthy People – regional collaborative that brings together over 50 park, health, and community organizations to foster health equity and environmental stewardship. Has coordinated regional initiatives in the past; now focuses on creating space to share knowledge and best practices.
• Midpeninsula Environmental Educators Association – an informal network of environmental educators in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties who meet monthly to share resources, discuss common challenges, and strengthen the impact of environmental education across the region
• Together Bay Area – a regional coalition of nonprofits, public agencies, Indigenous Tribes, and mission-aligned businesses working collectively to promote climate resilience and social equity across the Bay Area
• LA Urban Center – Collaborative research hub focusing on topics including urban forestry, water management, and ecological resilience with aim to create sustainable and equitable urban environments. Has facilitate many community/academic partnerships. More focused on southern California, but has some resources that apply statewide.

Workgroup 4 — From Urban Forestry to Community Forestry

This workgroup focused on mapping assets and barriers to community forestry in our region and brainstorming strategies to overcome specific challenges. There were no specific outside resources captured in the notes, but let us know if we missed something!

The San Francisco Bay Area is a vibrant and unique urban matrix — a patchwork of diverse communities, microclimates, and environmental challenges that demand localized, collaborative solutions. To ensure the resilience and equity of our urban forests, we invite you to join Planting Hope, a convening focused on connecting distributed efforts to advance urban and community forestry in our region.

We believe this is a critical moment. One tree can change a landscape — one conversation can change the future. We invite our regional colleagues and advocates to address the challenges and opportunities that define urban forestry in the Bay Area. Together, we aim to identify actionable goals to advance urban forestry through science, equity, climate action, and community empowerment.

Planting Hope is co-presented by Stanford University as an Office of Community Engagement Regional Forum, periodic events that showcase regional collaboration on timely topics and advance Stanford’s mission.

One tree can change a landscape — one conversation can change the future

Why Attend?

• Collaborate with leaders across the region to strategize around urban forestry regional priorities.
• Deepen regional knowledge and incorporation of a framework, to align science-based practices, equity priorities, climate resilience, and community empowerment to urban forestry actions.
• Contribute to selecting and refining actionable goals to move forward in the coming year.
• Plant hope with colleagues for a greener, more equitable, and more resilient Bay Area.

Welcome & Introduction | 9:00-9:25 am

Speakers:

• Megan Fogarty, Senior Associate Vice President for Community Engagement, Stanford University
• Lisa Gauthier, San Mateo County Supervisor District 4, and Margaret Abe-Koga, Santa Clara County Supervisor District 5
• Jean-Paul Renaud, Executive Director, Canopy
• Walter Passmore, State Urban Forester, CalFire

Context of Regional Priorities and Challenges | 9:30-10:50 am

Presentations by:

• USFS Cal Fire California Urban Tree Canopy 2022
• Drew Brown, Stanford University, LBRE
• Sharon Gamson Danks, CEO and Founder, Green Schoolyards America

Panel Presentations | 11:00 am-12:15 pm

Participants will choose one of four panels to attend. In the afternoon, they will reconvene with the same group for a moderated interactive working group discussion on the topic.

• Panel 1: Growing Urban Forests for Climate Resilience
• Panel 2: Bridging the Equity Gap Through Urban Forestry
• Panel 3: From the Lab to the Planting Strip: Academic Collaborations for Urban Forestry
• Panel 4: Urban Forestry to Community Forestry: Empowering Communities Through Engagement and Partnerships

Catered Lunch | 12:15-1:15 pm

Planting Action | 1:15 – 1:30 pm

Chris Field is the Perry L. McCarty Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at Stanford University

Workgroups | 1:30-3:45 pm

Participants are invited to reconvene with the same group they joined for the morning panel for a moderated, interactive working group discussion:

• Workgroup 1: Growing Urban Forests for Climate Resilience
• Workgroup 2: Bridging the Equity Gap Through Urban Forestry
• Workgroup 3: From the Lab to the Planting Strip: Academic Collaborations for Urban Forestry
• Workgroup 4: Urban Forestry to Community Forestry: Empowering Communities Through Engagement and Partnerships

Report Back & Planting Impact | 4:00-4:30 pm

Reception | 4:30 pm

Moderator: Michael Cappon, Davey Resource Group
Facilitator: Irina Kogan, Peninsula Open Space Trust
Panelists: Darya Barar, Hort Science; Dr. Melissa Foley, San Francisco Estuary Institute;
Walter Passmore, CalFire; Lauren Stoneburner, San Francisco Estuary Institute; Mike Yarak, Friends of the Urban Forest

Urban forests are vital to the health and sustainability of our cities — providing shade, improving air quality, reducing stormwater runoff, and cooling overheated neighborhoods. As conditions shift, research shows Northern California’s urban forest is on the decline and regional strategies are paramount to address this escalating concern.

In this workshop, engage with urban forestry professionals, climate scientists, planners, and community leaders to explore how we can reimagine the urban forest for a hotter, drier, and more unpredictable future. Through cross-disciplinary dialogue, we’ll dive into innovative strategies for selecting resilient tree species, planning for long-term canopy health, and integrating nature-based solutions into climate adaptation frameworks and infrastructure.

Discover how cities can proactively adapt their urban landscapes — not just to mitigate climate change, but to withstand its impacts. Learn from case studies, research insights, and on-the-ground projects that are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for urban ecosystems.

Moderator: JP Renaud, Canopy
Facilitator: Zionne Fox, Peninsula Open Space Trust
Panelists: Dayna Chung, Community Equity Collaborative; Christine Padilla, Build Up San Mateo County; Randy Tsuda, Alta Housing; Susan Stephenson, California Interfaith Power and Light; Curtis Chan, Deputy Health Director, County of San Mateo

Urban forestry’s commitment to equity is often focused on closing the “green gap” — but what if it could do even more? This panel explores how reframing urban forestry as a tool for systemic equity can transform not only our landscapes, but our broader communities.

From tree canopy gaps to heat islands, disinvestment in green infrastructure often mirrors patterns of racial, economic, health and educational inequality. When approached through an equity lens, urban forestry can become more than a movement for environmental justice — it can be a vehicle for social, health and education justice as well.

Join a dynamic panel of experts in data, public health, community engagement, and policy as they examine how trees — and the systems that support them — can help close not just the “green gap,” but long-standing disparities across neighborhoods. Together, we’ll explore how prioritizing equity in canopy coverage, community leadership, and resource allocation can lead to more just and resilient cities for all.

Moderator: Aubrey Knier, Canopy
Facilitator: Dr. Peter Cowan, Peninsula Open Space Trust
Panelists: Dr. Erica Spotswood, Second Nature; Dr. Nicole Ardoin, Stanford; Sharon Gamson Danks, Green Schoolyards America

Bridging academic research and on-the-ground urban forestry is essential for building evidence-based practices that support thriving, climate-resilient urban forests. This workgroup will highlight successful case studies where academic insights have informed tree species selection, policy development, and community engagement strategies, and provide a collaborative forum for developing frameworks that translate research into actionable outcomes.

In the afternoon, facilitators will lead a collaborative discussion on how universities, city agencies, nonprofits, and community organizations can work together to translate research into actionable outcomes. The session will also address common challenges in cross-sector collaboration, including misaligned timelines, data-sharing hurdles, and the balance between research rigor and practical implementation.

By the end of the workshop, participants will develop a framework for initiating and sustaining productive research-practice partnerships, along with strategies for leveraging academic collaborations to support funding, monitoring, and policy development.

Moderator: Ally Bell, Canopy
Facilitator: Val Otazu, Peninsula Open Space Trust
Panelists: Julio Garcia, Rise South City; Greg Mediati, City of South San Francisco; Joshua Richardson, City of South San Francisco; Amelia Stonkus, Rise South City; Bridget Thorpe, Our City Forest; Yoo Yoo Yeah, Urban Forest Friends

While urban forestry is often viewed as a technical solution to environmental challenges, often focusing on the science of planting and managing trees in cities, community forestry represents something deeper: a movement of people rooted in shared power, education, partnerships, and the strengthening of our social fabric.

This panel explores the critical distinction between these two approaches, emphasizing that planting trees with communities, not just for them, is essential for long-term success and resilience. And that through education and workforce development, we must cultivate the next generation of environmental stewards and green professionals.

Community leaders, environmental educators, urban and community forestry leaders, and workforce professionals will share how forestry rooted in community not only helps trees thrive, but also fosters healing, belonging, and the hope for a better future.