The Trees Are Coming!

Zeima Kassahun and I have been friends for a really long time - pretty much most of our lives. You wouldn't know it then, but we've somehow managed to not only stay best friends, but we've both ended up in environmental professions as adults.Zeima works as a community planting manager for a non-profit organization in the Presidio of San Francisco called Friends of the Urban Forest or FUF. Friends of the Urban Forest has planted more than 60,000 trees, totaling almost half of the city’s street tree canopy. Their mission is to help individuals and neighborhood groups plant and care for street trees and sidewalk gardens in San Francisco in order to improve the city by beautifying neighborhoods, cleaning the air, and reducing polluted stormwater runoff.FUF Community Planting Manager Zeima KassahunAbout every month, FUF employees gather with a consistent group of dedicated volunteers and host planting days, where after much coordination and planning, trees are planted in previously identified sidewalk spaces. I met Zeima at one of these plantings and got to follow her around as we discussed green gentrification, the need for more diversity in environmental professions and all the intricacies of her job. Join private conversations with top authors and access exclusive bonus content! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Get full access to Earth to Humans Podcast's Substack at earthtohumanspodcast.substack.com/subscribe