EARTH DAY TREE PLANTING

Description of Event:

Pico-Union is one of LA’s most diverse and economically challenged neighborhoods. Located between the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Union Avenue immediately west of Downtown, Pico-Union is the fourth-most-dense neighborhoods in all of Los Angeles with over 40,000 residents. Often overlooked, Pico-Union lacks adequate green space and tree canopy, subjecting the community to poor air quality and extreme heat during the hot months. 

This Earth Day, Pico-Union Project is hosting a tree and succulent planting event to continue to enhance the community and fight climate change. With community support and in partnership with Blue Sky LA, 40 native species of trees and succulents will be planted across the neighborhood throughout the day. Pico-Union Project will thereafter ensure that the plants get the water and care they need to continue to grow and thrive. 

Description of Hosting Organizations:

Pico-Union Project is a nonprofit organization which was founded to create a supportive and nurturing space for community members of all different cultures, backgrounds, and faiths. Today, Pico-Union Project quite literally changes lives for community members who call the neighborhood home. In addition to enriching the community by planting and maintaining local gardens, providing classes on composting and nutrition, and creating high school mentorship programs, Pico-Union Project has also become a core part of residents’ daily lives. On Sundays, the Project distributes free hot meals to ensure that locals don’t go to bed hungry. On Wednesdays, it provides free access to guitars and music lessons. On Fridays, it not only distributes 30,000 pounds of free fresh produce to lines full of people but also provides free COVID testing and information for those interested. 

Blue Sky LA (“BSLA”) is an initiative to improve Los Angeles’s air quality dramatically by the 2028 Olympics. While the City and organizers resource facilities and logistics to host one of the biggest events in the world, climate change will bring oppressive heat and dangerously poor air quality to the athletes, tourists, and residents in L.A. BSLA was formed from a partnership between Climate Cents and Breathe SoCal as an urgent initiative to support local projects that improve air quality, cool areas of extreme heat, and fight climate change. 

Benefits of Pico-Union Project:

Each year in the US, 130 billion meals worth of food is thrown away and 35% of grown food goes uneaten. Part of the problem is that certain produce, although perfectly edible, is thrown out by large grocery chains due to small blemishes or unique shapes.

Pico-Union Project, together with Seeds of Hope, tackles this food waste issue head on. Each week, the organizations distribute an astounding 30,000 pounds of free “unsellable” fresh produce. This tremendous collaboration reaps the following environmental benefits per week:

• Meals recovered: 25,000

• Greenhouse gas reduction: 6.33 tons of CO2 

But Pico-Union Project doesn't stop there. Each week, in line with its no waste efforts, Pico-Union Project also composts 500 pounds of excess produce or acquired food scraps at its composting site. In turn, the composted waste is used to enrich the community’s urban gardens and trees. 

Pico-Union Project also coated its parking lot, where it hosts several of its events including its weekly fresh produce distribution event, with solar reflective paint. In partnership with Creative Paving Solutions, Pico-Union Project was able to reduce the surface temperature of its parking lot up to 25%.

Pico-Union Project also coated its parking lot, where it hosts several of its events including its weekly fresh produce distribution event, with solar reflective paint. In partnership with Creative Paving Solutions, Pico-Union Project was able to reduce the surface temperature of its parking lot up to 25%.

Benefits of Earth Day Planting Event:

Tree and succulent planting have been shown to have a multitude of health and environmental benefits such as improving air quality and reducing surface temperatures. As a heat-impacted community getting hotter with each passing summer, Pico-Union will rely tremendously on tree canopies in helping the neighborhood withstand the public health impacts of climate change. Neighborhoods with adequate greenery have lower rates of respiratory illnesses, less crime, and an overall better quality of life. 

In addition to twenty succulents, the twenty trees that will be planted include 10 Western Redbuds, 5 Jacarandas, and 5 Purple Orchids. When planted together, these trees will reap the following benefits per year:

• Greenhouse gas reduction: 398.7 pounds of CO2

• Stormwater capture: 1,223.59 gallons

• Air pollution removed: 12.6 ounces