Ongoing Programs

Young Tree Care Program
2006 Tree Care Report (pdf)

California’s hot and dry summers present young trees with their most significant challenge. To help them out, every spring Canopy volunteers survey the health of Palo Alto’s street trees that have been planted in the past five years. This adds up to over 1,000 trees! The biggest problem we find is that many young street trees are too dry and need more water. The data we collect is turned over in a report to the City of Palo Alto’s Public Works Department so that their crews can attend to any problems within the City’s realm of responsibility.

Volunteer Opportunities | Calendar of Events

Planting Program

Canopy involves the Palo Alto community in planting trees along city streets and in city parks. Working closely with residents and the Palo Alto Department of Public Works, Canopy volunteers survey neighborhoods and plant and care for young trees. We hold community planting events throughout the fall and winter. Residents who have agreed to host a new tree, care for and water the tree over the next several years to better the chances of its survival.

Volunteer Opportunities | Calendar of Events

Mature Tree Care Program

The urban forest needs support throughout its life cycle. After planting new trees and caring for young trees, the next step is working to protect mature trees. There are two facets to the Mature Tree Care Program: education and Ivy Busters workdays. The educational arm of the Mature Tree Care Program gives residents the knowledge they need to care properly for their mature trees. The Ivy Busters portion puts together workdays in Palo Alto parks to extend the life of mature trees by protecting them from invasive ivy and oak root fungus. Both of these are common threats to trees in Palo Alto. During Ivy Busters workdays, volunteers remove ivy from the base of trees, expose roots crowns to kill oak root fungus, and help to maintain a healthy urban forest.

Volunteer Opportunities | Calendar of Events

Tree Talks

Canopy sponsors public lectures on a variety of issues important to urban forestry. Past topics have included pruning, planting compatibility under oaks, and the selection and care of fruit trees. See the calendar for upcoming talks.

Tree Walks

Canopy’s local tree experts occasionally lead members of the public on walks through selected neighborhoods pointing out heritage trees and other notable specimens of various species and discussing proper placement and care of trees. Check Canopy's Calendar of Events for upcoming Tree Walks. Many of these routes have been turned into self-guided tour brochures.

The Right Tree in the Right Place

The "Right Tree in the Right Place" (RTRP) Program is sponsored by the City of Palo Alto and Canopy to encourage the correct selection and placement of trees planted under utility lines.

The program removes tall trees in residential back yards and on commercial properties that are growing into power lines. By rubbing on the wires or falling on them in storms, these trees can cause fires and power outages. Pruning the ever-growing branches away from the wires is an ongoing expense for the City and an ongoing nuisance for property owners. Tall trees under power lines are prime examples of "the wrong tree in the wrong place", and that's why the RTRP Program is offering to subsidize their removal and optional replacement with shorter trees.

If you have a qualifying tree on your property, the City of Palo Alto will:

• Remove the tree, leaving the stump.
• Reimburse you up to $300 for your cost in having the stump ground away.
• Reimburse you up to $50 for a replacement tree that will not interfere with the power lines overhead.

Please contact Canopy for further information.

OakWell Project - Report available

Palo Alto's native oaks are a beautiful part of the City's heritage. Many are older than the city itself and need care to ensure their continued health and survival. In 1997 Canopy initiated the OakWell Project as a city-wide effort to take careful inventory of the native oak trees. Over the next four years, 47 volunteers catalogued nearly 7,500 coast live oaks, 1,400 valley oaks, and a handful of blue and black oaks. They left oak care information at over 2,200 residences.

Native oaks and redwoods are currently the only trees automatically protected by Palo Alto's 1996 Heritage Tree Ordinance. The OakWell inventory has given the City and Canopy a tool to measure how well we are protecting these special trees. It has also helped us establish communication with oak tree owners so we can, for example, advise them in a drought.