Community Corner
Palisades Beautiful Extends Branch to TreePeople
The nonprofit seeks a partnership with the larger environmental organization to help care for the area's greenery.
, newly installed president of Palisades Beautiful, hopes that her innovative idea to partner with TreePeople will help save the many trees her nonprofit organization has been planting in Pacific Palisades since 1974.
“My idea is for TreePeople to start a model program through which they would partner with nonprofits that are already set up in communities like Pacific Palisades to maintain the trees that are in trouble,” Marinacci said. “Due to the fiscal crisis, the city of Los Angeles no longer has the personnel or equipment to maintain the trees as they have in the past.”
Palisades Beautiful plants parkway trees in residential areas with the goal of making the area a healthier and more beautiful place to live. TreePeople, an environmental nonprofit based at Coldwater Canyon Park in Beverly Hills, pursues a similar goal on a much larger scale with 53 staff members and a slew of volunteers.
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“So the idea is for TreePeople, which is very successful at raising money and getting volunteers, can partner with different community organizations, along with the city of Los Angeles, to provide care for sick or damaged trees,” Marinacci said. “So the local nonprofits would work with the city, but with the expertise, the fundraising ability and the tremendous energy and success that TreePeople has.”
In the past, the city would make it around to every tree about every four or five years for trimming, Marinacci said.
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“Then last year they said it would be every 13 years and now they’re saying they’re not going to come at all,” she said. “You can’t expect people in neighborhoods to climb up 70 feet to trim the trees. You need very specialized and costly equipment to do that.”
Marinacci attended TreePeople’s last meeting and spoke at length afterward with founder and President Andy Lipkis about her idea. He was receptive and they have since been in touch via email.
Marinacci reported her progress to other Palisades Beautiful board members at the group’s monthly meeting Friday.
“I thought [Lipkis’] response was very favorable, and I hope that something can be worked out between our two organizations,” she said.
The Palisades Beautiful board would also like to recruit some new board members and volunteers to help it carry out its mission.
“We would like to find some young people who would like to get involved, but we are mainly looking for people who have a lot of energy, who are practical and who love trees,” Marinacci said. “People complain about the trees and how they need to be trimmed and care for, but no one is doing anything.”
Those interested in working with Palisades Beautiful can call Marinacci at 310-459-0190 or visit the group’s website.
For information about TreePeople, click here.
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