Friends of the Urban Forest

Since 1981 our community-based street tree plantings have literally transformed San Francisco's cityscape. We've planted 42,000 in 26 years and we can plant thousands more with your support.

Why do we exist?

We came into being in 1981 when the city of San Francisco abandoned much of its municipal tree-planting program. Since then, we have planted 38,000 trees on San Francisco's streets -- that's 30% of all our city's street trees. Imagine how our city would look without them!

In addition to the beauty these trees add to the city, we enjoy many other benefits from these trees. They clean pollutants out of the air and provide us with life-giving oxygen. They soak up storm water run-off, reduce energy use by providing shade, increase property values -- studies have even shown that planting trees reduces crime. A 2003 UC Davis study estimated that the average annual benefit of San Francisco's urban forest to be $7.5 million!

We also operate a Tree Care and Maintenance Program to make sure that the trees we plant survive and thrive and a Youth and Education Program inwhich we pay at-risk youth, ages 14 - 17 $8.50/hour to learn how to plant and care for trees, as well as computer and other job skills.

What have you accomplished?

Since 1981 we have planted 38,000 trees in San Francisco -- and we need to plant many more. Every neighborhood we have planted in has derived the joy of participating in a neighborhood planting and all the benefits that come from our urban forest. The many dozens of disadvantaged youth we have paid and trained over the years have learned skills they can apply as they join the workforce.

Two Saturdays a month we engage in neighborhood plantings. At these plantings neighbors will get to know each other, in many cases for the first time. In many ways, we see ourselves as community builders, with tree plantings as the mechanism whereby we bring neighborhoods together. Week after week we see communities come together in a celebration of tree planting and when we're gone we've left behind a newly united community, as well as urban greenery where only concrete used to be.

	How do you help people in my community?		Why do you need my support?
	How can I be sure that you will use my money wisely and won't waste it?		Can I Volunteer? How?