Urban Releaf Celebrates Earth Day with Two Tree-Planting Events on April 20
Urban Releaf celebrates Earth Day with not one but two tree-planting events on April 20: We will be teaming with the Unity Council AND District 5 City Councilmember Noel Gallo for their Earth Day celebration at Cesar Chavez Park in Oakland’s Fruitvale District, as well as with Communities For a Better Environment, HOPE Collaborative, Acta Non Verba Farm Project, Tassafaronga Recreation Center, EnCompass Academy and ACORN Woodland, and District 6 City Councilmember Desley Brooks for CBE’s 5th Annual “Love Yo Momma” /Clean Up Green Up Earth Day celebration, to be held at Tassafaronga Recreation Center in East Oakland. Volunteers are welcome at both locations to help plant trees, remove trash and clear debris to make Oakland a greener and cleaner place.
Urban Releaf has been participating in Earth Day events since its inception 15 years ago, noted founder and Executive Director Kemba Shakur. “It’s important because it’s a day to recognize our environment,” Shakur said. “Earth Day is generally a day that we bring volunteers together, to assist with some of our green activities, and to expose people to our work. This Earth Day is going to be exciting to us because we’ll not just be in one area, we’ll be in two. It should be a great day of tree-planting, community-building, and volunteering.”
As Nehanda Imara, East Oakland coordinator for CBE, said, “we’re happy to collaborate and partner with Urban Releaf.” Tree-planting, she added, represents “a symbol of us building resiliency in the community, something that’s gonna be there, to help beautify, as well as [helping] air quality.”
Unity Council CEO Chris Iglesias had this to say: “As a community based organization located in the Fruitvale area it is extremely important that we celebrate Earth Day. Not only is it an opportunity for community to come together to beautify and care for our parks and green spaces, but it’s an important reminder that we need to take care of our natural resources. This year we are excited about collaborating with Urban Releaf to plant trees around the neighborhood. We look forward to greening Fruitvale, in partnership with our community members and Urban Releaf, one tree at a time.”
Unity Council Earth Day Celebration, April 20th, 2013, 9:30 am-1pm, free, Cesar Chavez Park (located at Foothill Blvd & 37th Ave. in Oakland). View location map here.
CBE’s 5th Annual “Love Yo Momma” /Clean Up Green Up Earth Day, April 20th, 2013, 10am-2pm, free, Tassafaronga Recreation Center, 975 85th Avenue, Oakland. View location map here.
