Reference/pull from Beattra Wilson and Christine Carmichealโs presentations
Climate Crisis is real, and it is here. We are already feeling the impact of it right now.
But we all are not impacted equally.
Racial, social and economic injustices determines the impact on communities by climate change.
Communities that experience severe impact are usually the same communities that have been historically marginalized due to racism.
Burden of White Leadership
Starting at home/looking in the mirror first
FUF was founded 40 years ago and has planted half of the cityโs street trees.
Recognizing and naming past harm
San Francisco like any other city has neighborhoods with lush tree canopies and neighborhoods with no trees at all.
Earn trust - donโt assume it
Walk around San Francisco, and it is hard to miss trees and gardens with our signs. But we cant assume we have built the trust with communities we want to partner with.
Being intentional about grounding our work in movements of justice
Weโve heard a lot about how we can better approach this work without perpetuating harm. Creating an urban environment that supports all peopleโs health and happiness means *co-creating*
It was important that we changed our focus from from outputs of our work, like the number of trees planted because of grants requirements - to outcomes of our work.
San Francisco is a tough place to grow trees and we have four decades of experience planting trees on sidewalks. We are uniquely positioned to partner with communities to plant new trees to address this environmental injustice.
We have shifted to a equity based planting model, prioritizing neighborhoods with low tree canopy
Community outreach is an integral part of the planning process. Residents are given the opportunity to request a tree or defer it to a future date. Residents can choose the species from a list of trees. Arborists on our team advice them based on what they like/ donโt like.
Two Community planting/month where we plant 30-45 trees with help of volunteers.
We added tree maintenance to our program - and we do basic tree care for the trees for 3 years. We partner with the city to water them (we just invested in a 2nd watering truck that will allow us to increase the # of trees we water).
Workshops to help communities plant backyard trees
Paid training programs for high school-aged youth. By learning introductory arborist skills on how to plant and care for trees, they get the opportunity to build their professional skills and strengthen their relationships with the community and the environment.
We also have a job training program for adults that provides jobs and job training to people that come from the communities we plant.
We have to start internally, otherwise we are hypocrites
Staff and Board survey -> most people said they didnโt have the tools to address equity and racism issues.
We had 3 different all day staff retreats
Personal Values
Race training
Org Values, Mission and Vision - Staff and Board together
Early progress: compensation transparency, career pathways framework
We are a movement that is aligned with other movements for justice
Framing our work through Climate and Social & Racial Justice lens is only the morally just and right thing to do, it is also the strategic path to remain relevant.
Connect with Gen Z - future employees, volunteers and donors
IRA Funding
"Planting a tree can be a useful and pleasant thing to do. Planting a tree is not a way of life. Planting a tree as a philosophical mode is just not good enough." -Joan Didion, 1975
Participation and ownership by communities
Our vision for the future - โHealthy trees and gardens everywhere possible that benefits everyone possible!โ
