When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! In the midst of social distancing measures, StreetsLA hosted the second annual (but first-ever virtual) Tree Summit, Resiliency: Foresight is 2020 on May 22, 2020. Moderated by the City of Los Angeles Chief Forest Officer, Rachel Malarich, the Summit explored challenges facing our Urban Forest such as managing tree and sidewalk conflicts and tree selection in the era of climate chaos.

Over 200 participants joined an informative discussion about how, with appropriate foresight, Los Angeles and cities nationwide can position our urban forests for future success. Featured expert speakers included Dr. Tom Smiley, Senior Arboriculture Researcher at Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories (view his presentation here); Miranda Hutton, Urban & Community Forestry Program Manager with the U.S. Forest Service, Los Angeles Center for Urban Natural Resources Sustainability (view her presentation here); and Dr. Matt Ritter, Professor, CalPoly San Luis Obispo (view his presentation here.). We were also pleased to have the opportunity to celebrate and share some of the great resiliency successes that our City Departments have accomplished.

Please enjoy the 2nd Annual Tree Summit.