Now that I am living and training in Beverly Hills, I have been exploring lots of new places to ride and run. One of the first spots I checked out was Franklin Canyon Park. Franklin Canyon is just north of Sunset Blvd, where Coldwater Canyon and Beverly Dr split and head into the Santa Monica Mountains. (Fun fact: At the bottom of Franklin Canyon is Coldwater Canyon Park, where I proposed to Mo in February!) It??is one of my favorite routes to get up to Mulholland, which is the main artery through the Santa Monica Mountains, as it is too narrow and slow for commuters compared to Coldwater Canyon, Laurel Canyon, etc., making it nice and quiet.
On one of my adventures up to Mulholland, I noticed a sign at the intersection of Franklin Canyon, Mulholland and Coldwater Canyon, for “Tree People.” This was back in the summer, and I probably had a couple hours of riding on my mind, so I just gave it a glance and didn’t think much of it. Just last week, however, I gave it a second look and decided to look it up:
TreePeople is a nonprofit organization that is growing a ??green and climate-resilient Los Angeles, one with enough tree canopy, healthy soil, and clean local water in even our most urban neighborhoods.
Interesting. I began reading the website, discovering??they are really into things like capturing rain water, reducing watershed into the ocean, and reforesting brushfire burn areas. How cool! I took a look at their calendar of events, and saw they have a variety of events every week. I was inspired by Paul Mitchell’s #GivingIsMyStyle campaign, and a few minutes later I was registering for an event on Sunday and asking some of my friends if they were interested in joining me.
Angeles Forest Restoration
My friend Spencer Marcus and I carpooled from LA up into the Angeles Crest National Forest to the Chilao Campground off Highway 2. There was a group of maybe about 30 Tree People workers and other volunteers. We had a short orientation before we set off to plant our own trees. We were told this area, along with 160,000 acres, was burned in the??2009 Station Fire. Wildfires in the area are natural and a part of the life cycle of the ecosystem, but the Station Fire was caused by arson and burned so hot that basically all the undergrowth as well as big, tall trees were completely wiped out.??Tree People is helping to get the area back to healthy growth with events like this one.
Our task was to plant Coulter pine trees. We were instructed to find a pre-marked location, dig a hole, create a berm, plant a seedling, water it, and finally lay down some mulch for protection. They stressed “quality over quantity.”??Spencer and I managed to plant five of the best pine tree seedlings you have ever seen!
We were out there for just a few hours, but Spencer and I agreed that the little work we did??felt good!??Not all of the trees we planted will make it, and the ones that do won’t really be grown for many years. Before we left, however, the Tree People organizers told us the impact our work will have, especially to the generations ahead.
If you are interested in doing some volunteer work, or just being outside and enjoying Los Angeles’s natural playground!, I encourage you to look at Tree People’s calendar of events. And if you do volunteer at Tree People, or anywhere else, tell your friends on social media using #GivingIsMyStyle. Paul Mitchell will donate $1 for every Tweet and Instagram with that hash tag toward a variety of charities, and hopefully you will inspire someone else to volunteer or give back, as well!
