OUR STORIES
Just as Forestr.org’s action is reliant on the collective efforts of our community, our story is not one, but many. Here, we gather the sparks that lit a love for our shared environment from all our ForestRs with the desire to share.
When I was a kid, maybe eight or nine, I remember my grandma growing tomatoes in our garden. She grew a lot of plants, but the cherry tomatoes were my favorite. The vines grew around an arched tunnel that was probably only a few yards deep, but when I was that little, it felt like it went on forever, a magical hidden path winding through her garden. My sister and I would lay on the ground and look at the sky through the leaves, comparing the size of tiny ripe tomatoes to the moon.
-Amber from Castro Valley
Growing up, my mom had a ring of rosebushes around our front lawn. They were her favorite part of our house, and I’d follow her around while she looked after the plants daily. In our neighborhood our house became known for her roses, so I’d often see passerby stopping to pluck a flower or two. But my mom never seemed to mind. She added more rosebushes instead, until we had white, red, pink, and yellow-orange. She liked that everyone could enjoy her work, too! She helped me see the value of a space that an entire community can appreciate, all from our own front lawn.
-Keerthi from San Jose
Nature has an impact on every aspect of my life! It’s a main character in all my best memories. There is a sense of magic when you’re surrounded by nature, a feeling that takes you out of the stressors of everyday life and connects you to the steady, grounding rhythm of the world around us. I can always rely on nature to provide me some solace and serenity. My passion for the environment inspired me to pursue a degree in environmental studies, and I hope to find a career where I can contribute to impactful conservation work and protect our beloved Earth. Forestr has been a great organization to volunteer for, and all the people I’ve met through working with them have been so kind! It’s awesome to connect with likeminded people and make a difference in your community ♡
-Anna from Castro Valley
OUR START
Founded in 2019, Forestr.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing shared spaces through the restoration of native wildlife habitats.
The idea for Forestr.org was born during a family walk through a redwood grove. Monumental trees shaded lush fern gullies, swollen creeks, and thriving wildlife. Yet these were not old-growth, as they appeared but, second- and third-generation trees planted in the wake of the East Bay’s vast deforestation during the 1850s and 1860s. The original giants were logged to near extinction to facilitate building the emerging city of San Francisco. Today, less than 5% of California’s old-growth has survived, yet their legacy lives on in the new-growth redwood forests protected and nurtured by local communities of conservationists.
In mid-2018, the Forestr.org team launched our first initiative by partnering with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to adopt a two-mile stretch of highway for litter removal. This marked the beginning of our land reclamation work: organizing weekly clean-up events to clear debris from local spaces and make way for new growth.
Forestr.org’s ultimate vision centers on the creation of green jobs. While volunteerism is a vital part of our model, our long-term goal is to build sustainable local economies grounded in ecological stewardship. As such, volunteers always have the choice to be paid for their time and work on Forestr.org projects.
These initiatives will create new opportunities for arborists, gardeners, landscape architects, maintenance professionals, and farmers. By integrating student groups and community organizations into hands-on learning with field experts, we aim to spotlight these careers as the ever-green jobs of the future.
