Learn Over Lunch with ReLeaf was hosted on October 11, 2023, over Zoom. California ReLeaf presented on Advocacy at the State and Local Levels with speaker, Victoria Vasquez, California ReLeaf’s Grants and Public Policy Manager.

About Learn Over Lunch

Learn Over Lunch is a California ReLeaf Network Member program designed to provide peer-to-peer learning opportunities among our 75+ urban forest nonprofits and community groups. Learn more about our 2023 Learn Over Lunch Series and register for upcoming programs.

ReLeaf Network Members,

Help us share your organization’s “tree-mendous” impact to the U.S. Forest Service and CAL FIRE. Please take our Network Impact Survey! The data collected is important to our federal and state Urban and Community Forestry partners and helps us better serve the Network.

The 2023 Network Impact Survey will ask you about last year’s planting season tree numbers and volunteer statistics (July 2022 – June 2023), which aligns with the state of California’s Fiscal Year 2023. We have also included optional questions about Network collaboration, resources,  benefits, programs, and accomplishments you would like us to share or highlight about your organization.

Numbers Your Organization Will Be Asked to Share in the Survey:

• Trees Planted
• Trees Cared For
• Volunteers
• Volunteer Hours (IMPORTANT information for the U.S. Forest Service)
• Other Metrics you Collect (i.e., funding sources, educational events, hours of job training, internships, concrete removed, etc.)

Please complete our 2023 Network Impact Survey by August 24th – it should take about 10 minutes to complete if you have all your numbers handy. Thank you in advance for your support! 

Learn Over Lunch (LOL) is back for Network Members in 2023! This year, we will host Learn Over Lunch sessions over zoom every other month on select Wednesdays from 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m. LOLs are a great opportunity to learn about what Network Members are doing across the state and gives you a chance to meet and connect with others Network Members during our breakout room discussions after the speaker presents.

Not a Network Member? Learn how to join here.

Learn Over Lunch – Open to Network Members Only
Select Wednesdays
Time: 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.

• 11:45 a.m. Meet and Greets
• 12:00 p.m. Network Member Presentation
• 12:20 p.m. Q & A
• 12:40 p.m. Breakout Room Discussion Groups
• 12:58 Closing

2023 Schedule

February 8th – Benicia Tree Foundation 
Topic: Freeway Tree Planting Program
Zoom Registration Now Closed

April 12th – Tree San Diego
Topic: Tree San Diego’s Recent Report on Urban Tree Planting Challenges in San Diego County
Zoom Registration Now Closed

June 14th – Friends of the Urban Forest 
Topic: Community Engagement – Creating Space for Hope and Joy Amid the Climate Crisis
Zoom Registration Now Closed

August 9th – Tree Fresno
Topic: Green Team Workforce Development Program
Watch the Presentation Recording

October 11th – California ReLeaf – Victoria Vasquez, Grants & Public Policy Manager
Topic: Advocacy at the State and Local Level
Watch the Presentation Recording

December 13th – Canopy
Topic: “In the Classroom” Tree Education Programs for Elementary Schools
Watch the Presentation Recording

Retreat Information

The Network Retreat is the annual get-together for California’s urban forest nonprofits and community organizations dedicated to improving the health and livability of California cities by planting and caring for trees.

Network Reception: Wednesday, May 10th –  5 p.m. – 7 p.m.| Tapa the World | 2115 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95816

Network Retreat: Thursday, May 11th – 9 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. | California Endowment Sacramento Conference Center, 1414 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.

Registration: $75 – Registration Now Closed 

Network Membership Requirement: Only current ReLeaf Network Members, who renewed in 2023, will be able to register and attend the Network Retreat. Join or renew your organization’s ReLeaf Network Membership using our online form.

Retreat Travel Stipends: Thanks to the generous support from our partners – the US Forest Service and CAL FIRE – as well as our sponsors, we are offering travel reimbursement stipends to help defray expenses associated with travel to the ReLeaf Network Retreat. Travel Stipend Application Period is now closed.

Lodging: California ReLeaf does not have an official hotel for the Retreat. There are many choices for hotels/and accommodations in Sacramento, including hostels, nearby hotels like Inn Off Capitol Park, Holiday Inn, and AirBnBs in Midtown and Downtown Sacramento.

Agenda Packet – Download our full agenda packet, which includes information about the Retreat and Reception Locations, our speaker bios, Retreat Schedule, and more! You can also download our 1-pager (2-sided) Retreat Schedule Only.

Speakers and Presentation Recordings

Download Retreat Speakers and Bios List

Keynote Presentation – Justice in the Trees

Speaker: Wanda Stewart, Executive Director, Common Vision

Download the Slide Deck

Presentation Description: While we all recognize the need to plant trees and grow environmental awareness in urban environments, we must grow our individual awarenesses and abilities to embrace the diversity of experiences and engage across culture. Through a sharing of Wanda’s real world stories from “the ‘hood” and beyond, this is an opportunity for reflection on how we can all work – individually and together – to cultivate a world that thrives for all.

A Resilient Community: Growing Equitable Tree Canopy and Youth Leadership in Watsonville

Speaker: Jonathan Pilch, Executive Director, & Yesenia Jimenez, Education and Restoration Specialist, Watsonville Wetlands Watch

Download the Slide Deck

Presentation Description: When Watsonville Wetlands Watch began the Watsonville Community Forest Project in 2017, our goal was to increase urban tree canopy in the City of Watsonville from 7% to 30%.  Since this time, we have refined our canopy goals and methods, learned many lessons along the way, and developed an effective youth leadership and training program called the Climate Corps Leadership Institute.  This presentation will share lessons learned in developing a community-based urban forest program in Watsonville, youth leadership development, and how we are connecting this work to broader goals for equity and environmental and watershed restoration and conservation.

Trees PLEASE – School & Park Tree Planting Program

Speaker: Miranda Kokoszka, Natural Resources Program Manager, Butte Environmental Council

Download the Slide Deck

Presentation Description: Butte Environmental Council developed the Trees PLEASE (Planting Literacy in Environmental Action & Stewardship Education) program to plant trees and engage students with hands-on learning at school campuses and parks in Butte County.The presentation will provide an overview of the program, lessons learned, as well as challenges, victories, and feedback that we have received from teachers and the community who have participated.

New Tools From the Urban Forest Ecosystem Institute

Speakers: Dr. Matt Ritter, Dr. Jenn Yost, Dr. Natalie Love, Graduate Student Camille Pawlak of The Urban Forest Ecosystem Institute at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Download the Slide Deck

Presentation Description: The Urban Forest Ecosystem Institute at Cal Poly has developed several tools for cataloging and understanding California’s urban forest, including the California Urban Forest Inventory, a collection of 7 million tree data points taken by arborists, the Tree Detector, which has predicted locations for every urban tree in California, and a set of range maps for California’s native trees. In this talk, we describe each of these data sources, how they can be used to describe and manage California’s urban forests, patterns in urban trees across the state, and how the data can be accessed. 

Urban Wood: Waste to Wonder

Speaker: Jennifer Szeliga, Director of Operations, Sacramento Tree Foundation

Download the Slide Deck

Presentation Description: This presentation will explore the fate of urban trees after they are removed. Typically, the majority are sent to landfills, with only a small percentage repurposed for mulch, firewood or biofuel; however, there are alternatives. By salvaging the logs from removed trees, we can transform them into useful lumber, giving them a new lease on life and continuing to provide benefits to our communities. The presentation will discuss opportunities for salvaging urban trees and creating sustainable lumber and beautiful products.

Learning As We Grow

Speakers: Adrienne Thomas, President, and Vanessa Dean, Vice President, SistersWe Community Gardening Projects

Download the Slide Deck

Presentation Description: SistersWe, based in the County of San Bernardino, was established in 2018 as the brainchild of three biological sisters who wanted to bring their community together by establishing environmentally friendly, green living spaces and community gardens and donating and planting more urban trees in their area. This presentation will discuss how SistersWe came together to build and develop their 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Learning as we grow SistersWe and trees!

CAL FIRE UCF Program Update

Speaker: Walter Passmore, State Urban Forester, CAL FIRE

Download the Slide Deck

California ReLeaf Advocacy and Funding Update

Speaker: Victoria Vasquez, Grants & Public Policy Manager, California ReLeaf

Download the Slide Deck

2023 Network Retreat Photos

View our 2023 Photo Album

Network Retreat Sponsorship Opportunities

Download the ReLeaf Network Retreat Sponsorship Packet

Network Retreat Sponsorship Form

Thank you to our Sponsors!

Are you ready? An unprecedented amount of public funding for urban and community forestry grants will be available over the next few years at the state and federal levels.

At the Partners in Community Forestry conference in Seattle, the week before Thanksgiving, Beattra Wilson, Director of Urban & Community Forestry with the US Forest Service, challenged everyone to be ready and stay ready for the $1.5 billion in funding for urban and community forestry competitive grants provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The funding was approved for 10 years, however, it will take the USFS U&CF program department some time to establish the grant programs. Beattra indicated that there would likely be about 8.5 years for the grant action & implementation by grant awardees.

Additionally, significant funding opportunities in California are expected, including the new Green Schoolyard Grant program (guidelines now open for comment) and other traditional grant programs like Urban Forest Expansion & Improvement. And the timelines will be also be rather short to develop and submit grant applications.

So how can your organization “be ready” and “stay ready” for these grant opportunities? Here is a list of ideas to consider in planning and preparing your “shovel-ready” grant program applications, as well as capacity building.

Ways You Can Be Ready & Stay Ready for Large Grant Funding Opportunities: 

1. Stay up-to-date with CAL FIRE’s Urban and Community Forestry Grant Programs – Visit their page to read and provide public comment for the 2022/2023 Green Schoolyard Grant Guidelines (by December 30th) and find other helpful resources.

2. Prepare and inform your Board about upcoming grant funding to ensure they can move quickly to approve grant applications.

3. Expect a continued focus on planting in neighborhoods that lack tree canopy as part of California’s ongoing emphasis on environmental justice as well as the federal Justice40 Initiative.

4. Create a working list of several potential locations for urban forest planting, tree care, or other related activities such as outdoor classrooms, community orchards, and tree protection (active preserving & caring for existing urban trees). Begin to initiate conversations with the landowners about potential grant funding.

5. Familiarize yourself with online environmental screening tools and get to know the equity, health, and adaptability scores of the neighborhoods you want to plant in by using tools like CalEnviroScreen, Tree Equity Score, Cal-Adapt, and the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.

6. Develop a basic grant program outline you would like to implement in your town that can be quickly adapted to fit the design parameters of upcoming urban forest grants.

7. Work on developing realistic and modular draft budgets, which can be scaled up or down and updated with new features to meet new grant requirements.

8. Consider revising and “readying” a previous unfunded grant application for another funding opportunity.

9. The survival of our trees has become more critical than ever with the drought and extreme heat issues in California. What serious, long-term plans is your organization making to ensure the trees are watered not only for the first three years but forever? How will you communicate your commitment and tree care plan in your grant application?

Capacity Building

1. Consider your staffing needs and how you can quickly ramp up staffing if you are awarded a large grant. Do you have partnerships with other local community-based organizations that could be subcontractors for outreach?  Do you have senior staff or experienced advisors ready to answer questions and provide personal support?

2. Are you using spreadsheets for employee payroll, time tracking, and benefits, or have you moved to an online tracking system like Gusto or ADP? Spreadsheets work when you’re small, but if you plan to grow quickly, an automated system should be considered to help you easily generate payroll reports for grant invoice backup.

3. Think about ways you can expand and strengthen your volunteer base. Do you have an existing training program that can quickly onboard new volunteers and strengthen the capacity of existing volunteers? If not, who can you partner with?

4. Do you have savings/funding reserves, or is it time to research getting a revolving Line of Credit so that you can handle the larger grant expenses and potential delays in reimbursement?

5. Consider how you can scale up tree watering and maintenance. Is it time to invest in a watering truck or hire a watering service? Can the cost be built into your budget and/or your other fundraising actions?