Editor’s Note: Alicia Lipinski sits down with TreePeople’s Jim Hardie, Director of Park Operations, and Heather Goldberg, Executive Producer of the summer series.

Alicia Lipinski: Can you tell me a little bit about what TreePeople does?

Heather Goldberg: At TreePeople, we are trying our best to be a model for the world by acting consciously and sustainably in many different ways, through resources with water and trees.

Jim Hardie: I like to say we’re trying to make this city a better place to live, and we’re doing it by trying to encourage people to take deeper personal responsibility. And to get them to do that, we have to educate, we have to inspire, we have to engage and lead. We have our year-round community events, whether they’re tree plantings or tree care events, virtually every weekend and sometimes weekdays too. We’re out supporting people in their communities to plant and care for trees and make their communities more sustainable. We bring 10 to 12 thousand kids to this park every year, from schools all around the city, to teach them about the cycles of nature and how they, even at their age, can do things right in their own home to make a difference. And our growing issue is looking at watershed/water usage issues. A key factor, just looking at LA, is rainfall. Since so many areas are paved over and filled with manmade structures, most of [the rainfall] goes into the LA river system, so instead of keeping it in the landscape, it gets flushed away to the ocean, and in that process, it carries with it pesticides, dog waste, fertilizers, and car oils, so not only are we wasting this precious resource but we’re also making our ocean and local beaches unsafe. At the same time, when you turn on your faucet, you’re using imported water and also consuming energy. What we’re trying to get people to do is look at how we can use that free rain to reduce our dependence on the water we’re importing.

AL: How did you get involved in TreePeople?

HG: I’ve been excited about TreePeople ever since first grade when I came on an eco-tour, which is this program where kids learn about consumption issues, recycling, soil, etc., and they also take home a little seedling that a kid before them had planted. And you take this little tree home, and you plant it, and you watch it grow. I did that as a first grader and decided that I wanted to work for TreePeople, and I always kept that in the back of my mind.

JH: It’s wonderful how many of the staff members here have these stories of how they came here, not just looking for a job, but were inspired and enveloped by the mission and spirit of TreePeople.

AL: What inspires you?

HG: I’ve always been very concerned with making the world a better place, as I know a lot of people in this world are. I believe in our work so much, and I think it is at the forefront of the environmental movement and has been for so long.

JH: I think, like a lot of people, I can’t just sit by, especially not in a city like Los Angeles. Luckily, I read about TreePeople and what they were doing and started volunteering. And what appealed to me was this group that was actually doing something very positive, very tangible, week after week, to make neighborhoods better. It was the ability to go out every week and do something real and get refueled, if you will. The work of the organization inspires me and keeps me going.

HG: The other really great thing about being a volunteer here is that we do a mini training before each event, and we teach people how to plant a tree, how to care for a tree, so you can just dive right in. You can leave being inspired and knowing something, and you can even take that home with you.

AL: What advice do you have for people who want to get more involved?

JH: Check our website or you can call our volunteer coordinator here and just see what the opportunities are. There’s this whole menu of choices for people, in terms of volunteering, and there’s gotta be something there that will connect with you; even if you don’t want to go out and get dirty on a particular day, there are other things for you to do to help us out.

HG: And with the summer series coming up, even just coming to enjoy a show or take a class will benefit Tree People, because of the funds we’re going to be raising will go to TreePeople from that.

AL: What was the inspiration behind the summer series?

JH: Well, the amphitheater was built in 97, through the generosity of the Taper family and people like Steve Martin and Bonnie Raitt and Johnny Carson and others mostly in the entertainment industry, and we realized pretty early on that it could be a great entertainment venue. There’s really no other one quite like it, in terms of this intimate outdoor amphitheater, under the trees. We bring people here to have a good time, but as they come, they learn about TreePeople, and they get to experience the park at night, which really is magical. People often say it’s the best kept secret in LA, but we hope more people will share that secret.

AL: If there was one change that people could make in their daily lives to help heal our planet, what would you say it would be?

JH: The thing that comes to mind first for me always is to simplify. To try to simply your life, in terms of consuming, in terms of your daily activities, in terms of driving your car, in terms of what you eat – just simplifying as a way of looking at your life, because all those things consume energy and lead to the problems that we have. It’s hard to say one thing, but there are many one things that people can choose from.

HG: Exactly.

AL: What do you see as the biggest threat to global health that we are facing right now?

HG: I think water has come to the forefront right now as a threat, but it’s definitely an issue we’re all going to have to face very soon – clean water, healthy water, where we’re going to get it.

JH: The long term effects of global warming, of course, are tied to that, and there are huge issues related to that, but if you had to pick one right now, I think [water] is a good choice.

AL: I was reading about how trees can actually speak to each other and warn each other of danger. I believe that trees speak to us as well – we just don’t always understand them. If they could literally speak to us, what do you think they’d be saying?

JH: Help! (laughs)

HG: I think they would just be saying, “We need more friends.” I mean, we need more trees in Los Angeles; we need more trees all over the world.

JH: I think they’d be asking us to take care of them. In a city, trees need human help, especially in the early years. We often make the analogy to a kid – you don’t just throw a kid out the door, you take care of them until they’re at least a teenager – they need help. And, mind you, they do speak to us visually, as we drive down the street, by the way they live and their health.

AL: Now, if the average citizen is driving down the street and sees a tree in need of care, what is the best thing they can do to help?

JH: There is an urban forestry deparatment in the city of Los Angeles, and virtually every municipality has its own version of that, and they can, as a first step, call and try to get the proper municipality to help, if it is a street tree. Another way to go is to take one of our tree care trainings here and work with our tree care team. While, principally, they work on trees that have been planted in the past by TreePeople Citizen Foresters, they can sometimes adopt trees that are not TreePeople trees, in certain neighborhoods where they’ve been given permission.

HG: I think as many people as are able to plant on their own private property, I think that’s also a really important thing to do.

AL: Is there anything else you want to share about TreePeople?

JH: If people are at all curious about us, come to the park. The summer series is a great thing. There are also areas to picnic and hike with their families. Every month there’s a full moon hike with 3 different levels of activity, including one for kids and families. There are terrific views at night, and there’s no billboards around you, no streetlights. So every month, check our website.

HG: If people don’t have the extra time to get involved, I think becoming a member is a great option. You can start becoming a member for as low as $25 and donate as much as you want, but you know that your contribution will be used in a great way.

JH: And when people become members, they get discount admission at our amphitheater events, so they’re seeing wonderful entertainment at a discount, simply because they’re helping TreePeople.