Youth Tree Care Program
Caring for San Francisco's trees while earning money and gaining work experience
Friends of the Urban Forest's Youth Program was started in 1995 as a summer program. Today, there are three sessions; summer, fall and spring. Over 250 youth have successfully finished the program, not only earning paychecks but gaining knowledge about trees and their urban settings, and developing valuable employment skills.
The Youth Tree Care Program is made possible by a partnership between Friends of the Urban Forest, Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco, JVS, Summer Search, and Hunters Point Family.
Our youth employees in the program earn money and develop marketable job skills while improving San Francisco's urban environment.
The fall session runs from September through December and the Spring session runs from February through May; sessions are part time. The summer session runs from June through August, five days a week.
Tree Care
Crew members learn some basic biology and botany as they learn the art of tree pruning. Technical discussion in the classroom about the pruning of young trees for structure, is put into practice in the field when the group visits trees that were planted three years before.
Crew members never know what to expect when visiting the trees. Friends of the Urban Forest's trees have an impressive survival rate, but city streets are not a friendly place for trees. Some trees are healthy and well-maintained by their owners, while others are neglected.
The Crew cares for trees in all 11 San Francisco Districts. In any one session, the Crew cares for 450 to 600 trees.
Tree Planting
Participants of the Youth Program spend two Saturdays helping with neighborhood plantings organized by Friends of the Urban Forest. This is an opportunity for them to work side by side with community volunteers while stepping up and passing their knowledge onto the community members.
