A pollution-fighting urban forest in Richmond? You could help plant it

Growing up in Richmond, Destiny Ndeke had an idea that the air was bad because whenever she’d leave her neighborhood — even just to travel to nearby Contra Costa College, where there’s an abundance of trees — she’d notice that breathing felt different. 

“I’d stand there and breathe,” said Ndeke. “The air affects your whole body. When I go to a certain area, I can definitely tell the air feels more clear.”

At the same time, Ndeke didn’t have an abundance of opportunities to explore the outdoors in Richmond.

“I stayed more inside and within my neighborhood, [or] just being at a park nearby the house,” she said. “Sometimes I’d go on walks with my mom around the marina.”

But that changed when Ndeke’s sister told her about the “Green Team” at a local organization called Groundwork Richmond, where young people could get paid jobs doing work such as tree-planting, watering, and pruning to expand and maintain Richmond’s urban canopy and green spaces. For Ndeke, who was 18 at the time, the experience also brought opportunities to go hiking and camping. 

Groundwork Richmond, said Ndeke, “opened me up to the outdoors.”

Growing Richmond’s urban forest

Richmond’s air quality is considerably worse than other parts of Contra Costa County and the Bay Area, and state regulators have recognized it as one of 17 priority areas that need assistance in reducing fossil-fuel emissions and improving the air. This past May, the local air district adopted a long-term plan to reduce emissions in partnership with community organizations and other stakeholders.

That work is bound to take years, and there is no single or easy solution, given the amount of industrial activity and Richmond’s proximity to major freeways. But there is one strategy that research has shown can reduce air pollution and improve air quality in urban and suburban areas: planting more trees. 

Trees help with air pollution in a variety of ways, but put plainly, they can act as filtering systems that intercept and diffuse the amount of airborne particulate matter in a community. Their cooling effects can also reduce chemical reactions that create ozone and harmful particulate matter.

In addition to improving the air, the National Forestry Service says urban forests can have other benefits, too: They provide critical habitats for wildlife, reduce stormwater run-off and peak temperatures in warmer months, enhance property values, and can even strengthen social connections among neighbors. 

It’s an approach that Richmond is currently investing in, but it isn’t new. Sarah Calderon, the workforce director at Groundwork Richmond, said the nonprofit has planted roughly 3,000 trees in and around Richmond over the last 12 years, including at John F. Kennedy Park, Booker T. Anderson Park, Lucas Park, Southside Park, and along the Richmond Greenway. Groundwork Richmond currently has funding to plant an additional 3,000 trees over the next four years, she said.

The organization is part of Groundwork USA, a network of similar local organizations focused on improving low-resource communities through youth development and taking care of the urban environment.

The city published an Urban Greening Master Plan in association with Groundwork in 2017, showing that the city’s tree canopy cover — the area of ground that trees shield when viewed from above — was about 13%, which is less than half the national average for urban areas. Neighborhoods closest to major industrial sites and other pollution sources had the least amount of tree canopy coverage, while those in northeastern Richmond and the hills had the most. 

Groundwork is currently planting trees along the Richmond Parkway, a major thoroughfare connecting I-580 and I-80 that cuts through the city and is a major source of pollution for adjacent neighborhoods including Atchison Village. When finished, the group will have planted approximately 500 trees along the highly trafficked thoroughfare.

“The goal of that project is to set up trees all along the corridor there, and to have them create a fence [of] tall trees to prevent the particles and pollution from entering those residential neighborhoods,” Calderon said. 

On a smaller and more personal scale, Groundwork’s Adopt-A-Tree program offers free trees to individual residents in Richmond. Those who want a tree planted on their property can apply online, and must agree to care for and water the tree. 

Residents can also adopt a tree from Richmond Trees, a volunteer-run group, and through the city’s Parks & Landscaping Division.

Groundwork is also participating in Richmond Rising, a large coalition-led initiative to improve the environment and health outcomes in several of Richmond’s oldest neighborhoods: the Iron Triangle, Santa Fe, and Coronado. These neighborhoods occupy a 2.3-square-mile area surrounded by industry and major roadways, and are among the most polluted sections of the city. 

“If you look at the tree count … all of those neighborhoods lack trees,” Calderon said. 

One component of the Richmond Rising initiative called “Bosque del Barrio” calls for the planting of 1,000 trees in the three aforementioned neighborhoods, as well as the removal and replacing of existing dead or dying trees. Other local organizations including Urban Tilth, GRID Alternatives, and the Trust for Public Land will be supplying the neighborhoods with fruit trees, barrels to capture rainwater, and other resources. 

“Different organizations have different priorities in that project, but the goal is really to transform those neighborhoods,” Calderon said. 

Arbor Day, coming up on Oct. 19, offers an opportunity for residents to get involved in Richmond’s greening efforts. On that day, the city plans to plant 40 trees around Southside Community Park and in the adjacent Santa Fe neighborhood. Since 2009, Richmond has been recognized by the National Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA for its commitment to urban forestry. 

Groundwork Richmond ‘Air Rangers’ expands local air monitoring

Despite having poor air quality relative to other parts of the state, the city of Richmond lacks a robust public air monitoring network. There are some sensors Chevron is required to operate and maintain around its fenceline and three community sites, but the largest air monitor networks are powered by small, internet-connected devices installed at residents’ homes. 

Groundwork Richmond has a community team called the Air Rangers, who have been working to install dozens of Purple Air monitors in low-income and disadvantaged neighborhoods. With money from the state, they’ve been able to partner with the city of Richmond and an environmental consulting company, Ramboll, to track and publicly display in real time concentrations of fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5, which is the most dangerous form of air pollution.

During her time with Groundwork Richmond, Ndeke worked as an Air Ranger with other young adults, visiting neighborhoods impacted by air pollution and asking people if they would be interested in an air monitor. Residents need to have accessible wi-fi, an open area without vents, and an outdoor outlet to plug in the air monitor. Ndeke said the people she spoke to were usually aware they lived in an area with bad air and were glad to have a way to check it. 

“There’s people out there that want to see their air quality day-to-day, live, and how it’s looking before they step outside,” Ndeke said.

How young adults in Richmond can get paid for planting trees

Besides planting trees, Groundwork Richmond engages with residents to help them understand the importance of having a strong and healthy urban forest.

“There’s an education component for these projects,” Calderon said. “We hold community events to talk about the benefits of trees, the benefits of air monitoring, and the benefits of engaging young people in these activities so that they learn to be better citizens.” 

Groundwork also employs those dedicated to being its keepers. Its workforce development program serves as a training pipeline for young adults interested in green collar jobs. Groundwork pays $18 an hour and participants work from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays for four months. The next cohort will start on Sept. 23. Applicants need to live in Richmond, be between the ages of 18 and 25, and have a social security number. Those interested must submit an application by Sept. 12. 

Along with on-the-job training, workers get first aid/CPR training, urban forestry training, free work gear, workplace safety training and can even get help with permanent job placements, among other benefits. 

The program is being paid for with a grant from CalFire’s Urban and Community Forestry program with the goal of training 45 people, placing at least 22 into jobs, and planting 125 trees in the process. It’s one way CalFire is trying to replace its retiring workforce and diversify in the process, Calderon said.  

In the summer, Groundwork has 13- to 18-year-olds, who are paid $17.20 an hour, work in the community cleaning up spaces and going outdoors for things like hiking and camping. But because Groundwork’s funding is largely focused on urban forestry, the main goal of the Green Team is to plant trees.  

Calderon said one of the biggest benefits of Groundwork’s various programs is the exposure to the outdoors. 

“We have folks that have never been on an airplane, never been to a national park like Yellowstone, and they come back and go off to school and want to then major in sciences or become rangers,” Calderon said. “It’s really exciting for the folks that are engaged in our work.”

One of those people continues to be Ndeke.

Now 20 and living in Atchison Village, she stayed in touch with the organization after leaving its programs was studying nursing at Contra Costa College. She’s now taking a pause to become Groundwork’s community and outreach coordinator, working out of the Point Richmond office. But first, she’s off to Yellowstone for two weeks where, she’ll meet with members of other local Groundwork USA affiliates. 

Ultimately, said Ndeke, it’s all about having a positive impact on the overall health of her community.

“My whole goal, my career choice — is just helping people.”