Since 2000, the Los Angeles tree canopy has shrunk at an alarming pace, with some neighborhoods losing up to 55% of their trees. This is due to lack of a cohesive City policy, drought, heatwaves, disease, street widening, development, and required sidewalk repairs.
California’s 9.1 million urban trees are worth about 1 billion in benefits per year – including cleaning the air by removing air pollutants; cooling streets and the City; providing residents with up to 50% of energy savings; removing excess carbon; catching rainfall; saving water and helping to prevent water pollution; providing desirable neighborhoods and a habitat for birds and other beneficial wildlife; boosting property values; and increasing business on our streets.