Urban Releaf

Mission Statement

Urban Releaf is an urban forestry/environmental non-profit 501(c)3 organization that was established in 1999 in the City of Oakland, California to address the needs of communities that have little greenery. Urban Releaf is committed to the revitalization of our communities through tree planting, garden projects and environmental education. Tree lined streets have been proven to be a viable necessity in most neighborhood planning and development efforts. Studies have shown that increasing the number of trees in an area improves the psychological well being of the residents. Urban Releaf understands that tree planting is an important service in continuing the effort to beautify our communities. To this end, Urban Releaf seeks to empower our residents including children and youth to beautify their neighborhoods. We believe that rehabilitation through tree planting and environmental awareness will revitalize our core urban areas.

Secondly, we concentrate on working with At Risk Youth organizations to promote and sustain community beautification projects. Our programs also expose youth to the various fields of arboriculture, biology, and advanced plant sciences.

In January 2005 Richmond Releaf combined with Oakland Releaf to become Urban Releaf, an organization dedicated to planting trees primarily in low to moderate-income communities that have little or no tree canopy cover. The goal is to revitalize these communities by planting trees, providing environmental awareness education and on-the-job training for at-risk youth and hard-to-employ adults.