East Palo Alto, located at the northwest end of Silicon Valley, has less than half the tree canopy cover of its more affluent neighboring cities. With a grant from CalFIRE’s California Climate Investments Program, the City was able to develop a long-overdue plan for expanding and caring for the City's tree canopy.

While at SFEI, Second Nature Strategy Director Megan Wheeler led the consultant team for this project, leading urban forest and policy analysis, a community survey and engagement process, and collaboration with city staff and government to achieve adoption of the plan.

20% canopy cover by 2062

“From Gray to Green: An Urban Forest Master Plan for East Palo Alto” takes a science-based approach to expanding the benefits of East Palo Alto’s urban forest, while remaining rooted in local context, history, and community values. The plan sets a goal to achieve 20% canopy cover by 2062, based on literature-derived thresholds for achieving ecological benefits, a desire to close the “green gap” between the city and its neighbors, and feasibility of planting and maintaining additional trees with the City’s existing resources. The plan includes habitat zones to guide tree selection and emphasizes the use of native trees. It also addresses the need to build stronger bonds between the city and local community members to support tree stewardship, a key component of urban forest success which was identified through the robust community engagement process.