Tree Davis

Reviewed by the Sacramento Region Community Foundation

$9,552 raised by 86 donors

96% complete

$10,000 Goal

Tree Davis is fortunate to have passionate and committed leadership: click here to read an article about our board president Greg McPherson.

Tree Davis harnesses the powers of community and science to make our neighborhoods, cities and surrounding natural areas healthier and more vibrant. Established by civic leaders in 1992, Tree Davis has accomplished a wide array of projects that have had profound impacts on Davis, West Sacramento, Winters, and Woodland. As the impacts of climate change become more clear for the Sacramento region, the role of strong urban and community forests as front line defenses becomes apparent - we need to make our neighborhoods cooler, lower air pollution, grow biodiversity and lower stormwater pollution - and trees do all of those things and more. 

Today Tree Davis is seeking to make our communities more “climate-ready.” Using research conducted by the Tree Davis board, staff and supporters, the trees that will be best for our region’s future are being planted today, ensuring that the trees that stand tall 50 years from now are drought tolerant and disease resistant. Tree Davis is also planting “Climate-Ready landscapes” throughout the region, installing native plant gardens that will lower water needs, support vital pollinator populations and improve overall community health. 

Today we partner with cities, schools, parks and neighborhoods throughout Yolo County, and are seeking opportunities to “share the shade” with Solano County as well. Staff are hard at work: 

- Through our Climate-Ready Education program  we’re teaching young people in Davis and West Sacramento classrooms about the value of trees, the need for urban sustainability, and career pathways within urban forestry.

- Through our Community Canopy program, we have partnered with the City of Davis to plant over 1000 trees in parks, medians and front yards. And we will be caring for them for years to come. 

- With our Climate-Ready Landscapes program, we are transforming turf grass spaces into native gardens. We have converted the “Tree Davis Memorial Grove” in West Davis over the past three years, and are in the process of installing a new native garden at “N Street Park” in Davis Manor this year. 

Folks throughout the Sacramento Valley are invited to join us for our volunteer events, workshops, bike rides and more. When people come together with solutions for our region’s future, great things can happen. 

Mission

Enhance and expand Climate-Ready Trees and Landscapes to improve the health and resilience of our communities. We do this through direct action, community engagement and advocacy.

Needs

While Tree Davis is fortunate to have great support from individual donors, grant funding from the State of California, and service contracts with the City of Davis, our capacity to provide service is larger than our current funding levels. Partially this is based on the state budget shortfall. Annual grant funds have been delayed this year, and we were counting on some of that funding to continue our positive momentum. Also, ongoing care of the trees and gardens that we have planted take a lot more staff time and volunteer facilitation than we are currently funded. We have big ideas about how to transform more neighborhoods and cities - especially those that have greater environmental needs than others - so our primary ask is more funding from individual donors.

We also would be well served if we received pro-bono technical assistance from communications, marketing and IT professionals. The Tree Davis brand, website, database and cloud-based data storage could be greatly improved, and those improvements would enhance our impact. We are open to your guidance and support!

Our final ask would be for the donation of a lightly used landscape trailer for us to tow with our pickup truck. This would help us move our tools and plants from site to site as we continue to transform our communities.

Equity Statement

We know that the impacts of environmental racism mean that many communities of color have less trees and less expose to nature - meaning that they are hotter and suffer from greater air pollution. Residents of these communities are more likely to suffer from illnesses and have less community wellness. But it's not as simple as planting more trees. We have to work hard with communites that have been impacted by these issues and be guided by them about how we can do better.

We are working at Tree Davis to be of better service to communities of color and frontline communities than we have in the past.

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

Tree Davis

Tax id (EIN)

94-3169363

Mission Category

Environment

Operating Budget

$250,001-$500,000

Organization Need

Funding: Unrestricted, In-Kind Donations, Other

Demographics Served

Youth & Children, Low-income individuals/families, General population

Counties Served

Yolo

Equity Statement

Equity Statement

Address

P.O. Box 72053
Davis, CA 95616

Service areas

Yolo County, CA, US

Phone

(530) 758-7337

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