Urban Releaf is an urban forestry/environmental non-profit 501(c)3 organization that was established in 1999 in the City of Oakland, California to address the needs of communities that have little greenery. Urban Releaf is committed to the revitalization of our communities through tree planting, garden projects and environmental education. Tree lined streets have been proven to be a viable necessity in most neighborhood planning and development efforts. Studies have shown that increasing the number of trees in an area improves the psychological well being of the residents. Urban Releaf understands that tree planting is an important service in continuing the effort to beautify our communities. To this end, Urban Releaf seeks to empower our residents including children and youth to beautify their neighborhoods. We believe that rehabilitation through tree planting and environmental awareness will revitalize our core urban areas.
Secondly, we concentrate on working with At Risk Youth organizations to promote and sustain community beautification projects. Our programs also expose youth to the various fields of arboriculture, biology, and advanced plant sciences.
In January 2005 Richmond Releaf combined with Oakland Releaf to become Urban Releaf, an organization dedicated to planting trees primarily in low to moderate-income communities that have little or no tree canopy cover. The goal is to revitalize these communities by planting trees, providing environmental awareness education and on-the-job training for disadvantaged and at-risk youth.
Kemba Shakur founded Urban Releaf in July of 1998 as an environmental tree planting organization, one of the few urban forestry groups of its kind in the nation. Main responsibilities include administration of the programming, creation of core curriculum and planting methods, coordination of youth team and community volunteers, ad hoc representative to the Board of Directors.
Jamila Chandler administers the daily operations of the Urban Releaf office. Jamila is a student in the City of Oakland's Fire Department Training. Jamila is an avid reader, swimmer (she's a certified lifeguard), and enjoys mentoring youth. Her favorite tree is a coastal redwood.
Viridiana Espiritu is Urban Releaf's donations coordinator. Viridiana (or Vee) trained as a pastry chef with the Bread Project. Vee was a private gardener is San Francisco for five years. Vee's favorite trees are the banana and the cacao.
Leslie Johnson Seale Kemba Shakur Chris Buckley
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