veteran-plantingPress Release: For immediate release

VAPAHCS Contact:

Michael Hill-Jackson
650-444-7380
[email protected]

Canopy Contact:

Michael Hawkins
831-239-6747
[email protected]

Veterans Day: Canopy & VAPAHCS to Honor Veterans with Community Trees

Tree planting event at VA Menlo Park center will serve recovering veterans

PALO ALTO: November 11, 2016 – The Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS) is partnering with Canopy, a local urban forestry nonprofit, to plant 19 trees at the VA’s Menlo Park division facilities. Volunteers from the VA and the community will join together for the service project in honor of Veterans Day on November 11, 2016, at 9am.

Canopy Executive Director Catherine Martineau commented on the Veterans Day planting, “Canopy is honored to support Veterans and the VA with this opportunity to plant community trees. Honorary and memorial trees are a custom in many countries. Today, Canopy brings this tradition home to honor local Veterans.”

Planting trees is a way to remember the past, build hope for the future, and improve the overall environment for recovering veterans. Studies have shown that patients with outdoor views and access to trees heal more quickly and with fewer complications. Research also suggests that trees and greenery reduce stress and improve overall mental health.

The VAPAHCS Menlo Park Center is home to many of the VA’s rehabilitation and recovery programs, from addiction counseling and services for homeless veterans to programs for PTSD and trauma recovery. A campus full of healthy trees creates a more positive and calming setting for service men and women who are healing.

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About Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System

The VAPAHCS includes facilities that provide some of the world’s finest medical care and cutting-edge technology. VAPAHCS is a teaching hospital, providing a full range of patient care services with state-of-the-art technology as well as education and research. VAPAHCS operates nearly 900 beds, including three nursing homes and a 100-bed homeless domiciliary – all to serve more than 85,000 enrolled veterans. For more information on VA, visit: www.paloalto.va.gov

About Canopy

Canopy plants and cares for trees where people need them the most. We bring the life-giving benefits of trees to the schools, neighborhoods, and public spaces of the San Francisco Mid-Peninsula. For more information on Canopy, visit: www.canopy.org

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