Where the Street Trees End

Following the United States’ 2019 withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, one California man decided to plant 100,000 trees in his home of Alameda. Before long, Amos White created 100K Trees for Humanity, and committed to doing the same in each city in the San Francisco Bay Area, beginning in areas with the least tree coverage, which nationally tend to be in lower-income communities of color, often near industrial plants, ports and transportation arteries.

Alameda, California was once a densely forested wetland, and home to abundant  birds and marine life, as well as the Ohlone Native Americans, before it was colonized, separated from Oakland by a shipping channel, and developed into a naval base. The island is now a suburb full of Victorians, parks and beaches on the east side, and affordable housing, warehouses and abandoned naval buildings on the west side– home to the island’s densest population of people of color, the least tree coverage and highest exposure to air pollution from Oakland’s nearby highway system and ports. 

“This is all about public health and safety,” said White. “What we need is an initiative focused on public health indicators to plant the right tree in the right place for the right reason.” To achieve this goal and foster community participation, White facilitates tree plantings with schools, youth organizations and businesses across Alameda, San Leandro and Oakland.

This story received First Place at the 2023 Hearst Journalism Awards National Competition