Started in the early seventies by Andy Lipkis, Tree People (http://www.treepeople.com/) have been responsible for planting well over one million trees throughout the city of Los Angeles. Although the focus has been on planting street trees, these have many of the same benefits as those found in the urban forests on the outskirts of German cities. Their focus has expanded to deal with issues of storm water management, all the while getting individual property owners involved.

Their citizen forester program, educates people throughout communites in the Los Angeles are to plant and care for their community trees. In addition to this they educate people about skills to undertake environmental management and stewardship.

Tree people have also gotten schools involved by organizing programs to include the children and their teachers in planting and caring for trees in their school playground. They have also helped to transform many of schools' asphalt and concrete playgrounds into green spaces.

Most recently, taking the process of water filtration that is done by a tree as inspiration, Tree People have introduced a project under the name T.R.E.E.S. (Transagency Resources for Environmental and Economic Sustainability.) The proposal is to introduce cisterns that collect rainwater later to be reused.