Reflections:

“My takeaways from this experience are that the urban canopy can be advocated for with boots on the ground and youths can be empowered to be environmental stewards. This was truly a phenomenal experience as a baseline for the work I foresee for myself in environmental justice.” – Alex

“Forest ReLeaf created a clear picture of why our work mattered and how our small contribution was significant for creating a greener world for tomorrow. This vision often carried me through some of the tedious and exhausting day-to-day work. Overall, the experience has been eye-opening and incredibly transformative.” – Kieran

“Saving the world may not look as glamorous as we see on TV, but what we’re doing with this program will spark a change no matter how small the seed.” – Mycol

“Getting to know this community has been great because it has allowed me to begin to understand the dynamics that environmental injustice creates.  I have often read about the divide between people of color and nature, but I still struggled to fully understand how anyone could dislike the trees that I had been taught to love. They were easy to love. I lived a privileged life in which I only saw nature in safe and aesthetic settings.  Listening to the issues that people had with their trees helped me understand their apprehension towards nature.” – Glore

“Along with never considering the worth of a tree I never considered the work of a tree. Trees are so devoted to their darma that we cannot help but to sometimes take their work for granted.  I have really enjoyed the reminder of all that trees do for us, and all that they could do for these communities.” – Emily

“I was excited about our mission and our focus on north city and north county.  When I graduated I wanted to be a part of something that is bringing pockets of nature to places that didn’t have it.  When I started this work I realized that we were doing that goal.” – De’Nonna