Urban Forest Friends

03/23/2026

Urban Forest Friends recognizes and thanks Pacific Gas and Electric Company for its generous sponsorship of California ReLeaf’s Growing Green Communities Grant Program, which made our “Birch Grove Park Tree Planting Event” project possible.

We had a total of 66 volunteers come together to plant 20 new trees. The coast live oaks, london planes, red maples, crape myrtles, and pistache trees will provide shade for the park for generations to come. Many thanks to Dan Cianciarulo and the Newark Recreation & Community Services - Newark, CA park staff, and to our partners Newark Memorial High Puente and Environmental Club for helping get the word out!

We also want to thank and recognize CAL FIRE and U.S. Forest Service , who continue to support urban and community tree-planting efforts all over California through funding, education, and other resources.

03/18/2026

We still need tree planting volunteers for this Saturday, March 21st! Sign-up form link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSepCarnzWBwd_fCKds8Jpx1YfqjKx_xr9OsdYXNszHBfsV2dA/viewform?usp=header

This is a great opportunity to learn about how to properly plant trees, earn volunteer hours, help your community, and fight climate change. No previous experience necessary. Please wear closed-toe shoes and bring your own water bottle.

03/14/2026

We're celebrating California Arbor Week with several tree plantings this upcoming week! This is a great opportunity to learn about how to properly plant trees, earn volunteer hours, help your community, and fight climate change.

Saturday, March 21st, 8:45am-noon: Come plant 20 new trees to shade the picnic areas at Birch Grove Park in Newark! Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSepCarnzWBwd_fCKds8Jpx1YfqjKx_xr9OsdYXNszHBfsV2dA/viewform

Wed-Thurs, March 18th-19th, 9am-6pm: Join the students at Schilling Elementary to plant small saplings in a Miyawaki Forest! Sign up here: https://m.signupgenius.com/ #!/showSignUp/10C044FA5AF2BA0F8C43-62430023-schilling/193084150

We're also preparing for our first Union City Tree Planting on April 11th. More details to come soon!

03/09/2026

Thank you to everyone for coming out to American High School on Saturday! We had a total of 59 volunteers come together to plant over 20 new trees! The oaks, cedar, maples, laurels, and Kentucky coffeetrees will grow and provide shade and cooling to the students of American High School.

Many thanks to Chris Curry Fremont Recreation Services, JTS, and Fremont USD for making this event possible.

And an extra shout to Fremont Mayor Fremont Mayor Raj Salwan, Principal Sandhya Sharma, Mr. Bonaccorsi, Superintendent Larsen, Trustee Coco, and the American HS faculty and staff for the great welcome to all the volunteers.

02/26/2026

Join the City of Newark on Saturday, March 21, for a hands-on community tree planting at Mirabeau Park. Volunteers will work alongside City staff, Urban Forest Friends, and Newark’s City Arborist to plant new trees, learn proper planting techniques, and help grow Newark’s urban forest. No experience is needed, just bring your enthusiasm and a willingness to lend a hand.

Sign up to volunteer at: https://linktr.ee/urbanforestfriends (link in bio)

Help us make Newark greener, healthier, and more vibrant, one tree at a time.

02/25/2026

Recognition received from Mattos "Soaring Into Science" Elementary School PTA and Senator Aisha Wahab! It’s a privilege to work with the community to green campuses and create a sustainable future for students. Thank you for this acknowledgement!

12/31/2025

What a year! With your support we have accomplished so much in 2025:

173 new Trees Planted
491 Volunteers
1700+ Volunteer Hours
14 new Tree Leaders
18 new Tree Watering Stewards
4 new Event Organizers

Our fearless new Tree Leaders:
Rosie, Precious, Raul, Ekam, Yuna, Bex, Emilio, Man, Jose, Krish, Viraj, Tia, Abhishek, and John

Our steadfast new Tree Watering Stewards:
Joyce, Christi, Christopher, George, Haider, Jatinder, Kiana, Mark, Reetu, William, Mario, Talia, Rosie, Precious, Raul, Anabella, Miya, and Hetshree

Our amazing new Event Organizers:
Nathiya, Man, George, and Mary

Total trees planted (since 2020): 920 trees

Thank you for being part of our story. Happy new year!

Urban Forest Friends is a branch of the non-profit 501(c)(3) Tri-City Ecology Center.
Help us plant more trees by making a tax-deductible donation (link below)! Be sure to include Urban Forest Friends in the note/comment.

https://www.tricityecology.org/donate

12/23/2025

Wishing you a wonderful Happy Holidays from the UFF team! We're celebrating a successful 2025, made possible by the incredible support of our community and partners. Thank you to everyone who contributed to planting so many trees this year! We appreciate each and every one of you and look forward to reconnecting in 2026.

12/07/2025

On Saturday we planted 27 trees with 62 amazing volunteers and were joined by Senator Aisha Wahab and Assemblymember Alex Lee! We planted London Plane, Australian Willow, Black Tulepo, Saratoga Bay Laurel, and Gingko trees which will create shade, beauty, and clean air.

This planting was part of a collaborative effort from the City of Fremont, CA Government, Fremont USD and Urban Forest Friends to plant trees in schools through Fremont’s CAL FIRE Urban and Community Forestry Grant, enhancing the environment and campus beauty. Thank you so much to all of our partners who helped to make this event a success, and to the volunteers who made it possible!

11/17/2025

Thank you to everyone for coming out to Mattos Elementary yesterday! We had a total of 68 volunteers come together to plant nineteen (19) new trees! The Regal Prince oaks will eventually grow to about 40-60 feet and provide shade and cooling to the students of Mattos Elementary.

Many thanks to Chris Curry Fremont Recreation Services, Rena Ho, JTS, and Fremont USD for making this event possible.

Thank you also to Fremont Mayor Raj Salwan, Councilmember Kathy Kimberlin, Board President Larry Sweeney, and Superintendent Zach Larsen for supporting and participating in this event. We would not be able to do this without this level of support from the city and FUSD!

And an extra shout to Principal Sherea Westra and the Mattos staff for the great welcome to all the volunteers.

11/08/2025

Tree planting!

💛 It is the First Friday of the Month November Newsletter is posted. Updates on Budget Collaborations, District-wide Events, 📰 1928 From the FUSD Archives, tree planting and more: https://bit.ly/fffnov25

11/03/2025

Thank you to everyone for coming out on Saturday, hope everyone had fun! We had a total of 62 volunteers from JFK High, Washington High, Mission SJ High, Newark Memorial High, Puente, Amazon Oak5, Troops 110 and 125, City of Newark, FUN Rotary, Urban Forest Friends, and more come together to plant twenty (20) new trees!

4x Green: Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia)
2x Dark Blue: Cork Oak (Quercus Suber)
2x Purple: Shumard Oak (Quercus shumardii)
4x Red: Chinese Pistache (Pistacia Chinensis)
4x Orange: Red Maple 'October Glory' (Acer Rubrum)
3x Yellow: Freeman Maple (Acer freemanii)
1x Light Blue: Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)