Urban Releaf ED Kemba Shakur was recently featured on NBCBayArea’s “Bay Area Proud” community affairs program . Reporter Garvin Thomas interviewed Shakur at the Urban Releaf office in North Oakland and joined the UR team for our recent Earth Day Tree-plantings in Fruitvale and East Oakland. “When the subject is trees in the city of

Our inspirational Executive Director, Kemba Shakur, was recently feted by the Arbor Day Foundation, winning the organization’s highest honor, the Morton Award – joining an elite group of arborists which includes Nobel Prize Winner Wangari Maathai. The Arbor Day Foundation was kind enough to host Shakur, Program Manager Kevin Jefferson, and Communications Manager Eric Arnold

On Saturday, April 20, Urban Releaf celebrated Earth Day with two tree-planting events in two locations: Cesar Chavez Park and Tassafaronga Rec Center. The Cesar Chavez Park event was put together by Unity Council and District 5 Councilmember Noel Gallo, and included volunteers from Kaiser Permanente, Dawoodi Bohra Muslims from Fremont, and neighborhood residents. The

Urban Releaf Executive Director and Founder Kemba Shakur was recently featured on KTVU’s weekly public affairs program, “Bay Area People.” hosted by Rosy Chu. Chu notes that Shakur has been “nationally recognized as a woman at the forefront of urban forestry” and asks Shakur why she decided to make it her life’s mission to plant

With 2013 being Urban Releaf’s 15th Anniversary, we thought it would be appropriate to take a look back at some of our most valuable work: tree-planting efforts in Oakland schools. Over the years, Urban Releaf has worked with former state Senator Perata’s office, the Oakland school board, and CAL-FIRE on projects in numerous schools and

Recently, I was asked to speak at the Green Festival, an annual convention of eco-progressive activism, held in San Francisco. The panel I was on was called “Trees for Life” – Planting Trees to Save Our Lives and Restore Our Communities.” When my time to speak arrived, I told the audience that newly-reelected President Obama