Industrial District Green

02/15/2024

Thanks to the generous support of TreePeople, Koreatown Youth and Community Center, CAL FIRE and Prop. 68, both Skid Row and the Arts District will be the beneficiaries of new trees in the coming weeks!

Look for the bulk of them to be planted along Towne Ave between 5th and 6th, 7th from San Pedro to the LA River and south of 7th east of Alameda St.

07/23/2023

07/23/2023

We love to see it! There has been a sudden burst of attention around trees and shade (or lack thereof) in Los Angeles. Two local reporters covered stories related to extreme heat & trees this past week. We get quoted in both.

From Maylin Tu at Los Angeles Public Press:

“Similarly, instead of increasing the tree canopy in Skid Row and other underserved neighborhoods, the city has removed and trimmed trees under the direction of the LAPD in the name of preventing crime.

And it’s not just the LAPD. According to Katherine McNenny, citizen forester and co-founder of Industrial District Green, new affordable housing developments in Skid Row are getting waivers from the city to plant fewer trees than city code requires. For example, Weingart Tower, a 19-story supportive housing complex, got its tree planting requirement reduced by 50%.

“We’re never going to get a development that big in this community — maybe ever again — and the amount of trees that we’ve essentially lost [by] having the city just waive these requirements is substantial.”

From Lexis-Olivier Ray at L.A. Taco:

“Katherine McNenny, a citizen forester and advocate for a more robust and healthier urban forest in Los Angeles, tells L.A. TACO, “You never want to trim trees in the hot summer months. You always want to trim trees when it’s cooler.” The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) generally recommends that most trees be trimmed during the dormant season.

“I saw the photos. Not only were the trees trimmed in the wrong time of year…but also the trees were ‘topped,’” McNenny said, referring to the process of cutting the tallest limbs of a tree down to reduce its size. The American National Standard Institute's (ANSI) pruning standards define topping as an “unacceptable pruning practice for trees.””

We are focused on trees and greenspace at IDG, but we gotta say, anyone who would hack mature shade trees in the middle of an LA heatwave is clearly in the wrong. We stand with the strikers.

04/23/2023

See Instagram 'More Monarchs 🦋' highlights from PROJECT MONARCH LA ()

04/23/2023

Via Project Monarch La - give them a follow! https://www.instagram.com/p/CrW0ngVvc67/

03/27/2023

We have been busy researching and analyzing city tree policy! Specifically, a little known but all-encompassing new urban forestry Ordinance that has massive implications for Downtown called the “Tree Guarantee Plan”. A 2018 Los Angeles Times piece detailed what it was supposed to accomplish.

Our findings are detailed in a website called, Redo Tree Guarantee LA. Please give it a visit and let us know what you think!

Our research included speaking with City Planners, Urban Forestry, the Community Forest Advisory Committee, and Public Works. We also combed through several Public Record Requests.

This Ordinance was supposed to "fix" many things and be a panacea for Downtown, but for all the development that has come here (including tree removals), there have yet to be any replacement trees planted - none. And if it has been a bust for Downtown, we assume it has been a bust for the rest of the city too. A careful reading of this Ordinance indicates that it is supposed to be re-examined regularly for efficacy (which has not happened yet). We will next focus on making sure this happens. To be continued…

The Ordinance City of Los Angeles Tree Guarantee Fee Planting Plan Background On May 22, 2019, the City Council adopted as amended the Board of Public Works’ (Board) proposed establishment of a Tree Replacement Guarantee (In-Lieu) Fee (Non­ Refundable Deposit) to provide development and residenti...

03/27/2023

Our new Project is a go! Helps us save some Monarch Butterflies - https://mailchi.mp/605826d852e0/our-new-project-is-a-go-helps-us-save-some-monarch-butterflies

11/12/2022

Glendale Community College Students HEROICALLY Take On Los Angeles Urban Forestry Policy!

SAVE THE DATE! 🌳

WHAT: Glendale Community College Team Interns Present Solutions to Business Challenge (Re: Los Angeles urban forestry policy)

WHY: because trees are important

DATE: Nov. 18, 2022

TIME: 1:30-4:30pm (informal reception to follow)

IRL: Verdugo campus in Sierra Vista (SV) 280 (https://www.glendale.edu/about-gcc/maps-parking/campus-map)

VIA ZOOM: https://glendale-edu.zoom.us/j/87657910072

Industrial District Green was recently invited to participate in a Glendale Community College Team Internship program, where STEM students were temporarily assigned to us as interns to help us tackle an issue utilizing unique problem-solving techniques. Given our current focus on policy, we decided to have them assist with helping us understand the efficacy of a somewhat new, but far-reaching urban forestry Ordinance.

A May 15, 2018, LA Times article describes this new Ordinance:

"Under new system, L.A. developers can pay a fee rather than plant new trees" (https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-fee-removal-tree-20180514-story.html)

This Ordinance (https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2016/16-0461-S1_rpt_BPW_11-27-2019.pdf) called the “Tree Guarantee Fee Planting Plan” was supposed to be guaranteeing that either a certain number of trees would be planted/per new development project, or, that an in-lieu fee would be paid to the city, which would in turn be used to plant and care for new trees near said project. Our own research uncovered that this was not happening. We simply were not seeing the new trees. Further, trying to determine if and how new development projects were complying with the Ordinance has been particularly challenging. This Ordinance has special importance for Downtown, given the huge amount of new development.

The Glendale students have spent the last 10 weeks delving into this Ordinance and will be presenting their final set of recommendations and analysis.

This presentation is open to all.

For more information, please contact: Rachel Ridgway at [email protected]

08/07/2022

"Pakradouni said the trees and shrubs are planted randomly in the small spaces, mixing plants of various heights into a dense thicket that shades the soil and creates habitat for wildlife. Just a year after the Griffith Park area was planted, she said the micro forest is full of insects, who attract birds, lizards, squirrels and even toads who migrated from the Los Angeles River below, up an embankment and over a horse trail "because there were enough bugs for them to eat and holes made by ground squirrels to protect them from the heat.""

Los Angeles needs micro forests to help fight climate change and animal extinctions, says horticulturist Katherine Pakradouni.

08/07/2022

"Climate change was the key motivator for the initiative."

LA Parks Foundation is planting tiny forests in local parks

06/30/2022

Biophilic Cities
July 14th
1-3pm

Presentation on cities that embrace & integrate nature & biodiversity, as well as an update from LASAN on the City’s baseline biodiversity index report.

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8549287523
Meeting ID: 854 928 7523
Audio by phone: 669-900-6833

06/05/2022

Did a little strategic pruning on Central at Catch 21 during this . 🌳