ReLeaf California-Kirkbride

A Plan for a Healthier and Greener Neighborhood

The ReLeaf California-Kirkbride plan aims to improve residents’ quality of life by providing a roadmap and a priority list of projects to increase the neighborhood’s tree canopy and resident participation in tree care and educational activities. The plan calls for various actions to restore and protect California-Kirkbride’s community trees, with youth engagement as a fundamental anchoring point for consideration during future project implementation in the neighborhood. It also presents a roadmap for increasing tree canopy coverage to bring the neighborhood’s community forest closer to the average tree canopy coverage experienced throughout Pittsburgh.

Tree Pittsburgh has been actively involved in the California-Kirkbride neighborhood, predating the initiation of the ReLeaf California-Kirkbride plan in November 2022. We have orchestrated various community events with our primary community partner, The California-Kirkbride Neighbors. These include tree adoption events, community tree plantings in Fall 2023, door-to-door outreach for the ReLeaf California-Kirkbride neighborhood survey throughout Summer 2023, and participation in community clean-up events to raise awareness about trees and encourage greater resident involvement. Tree Pittsburgh has officially certified five community elders as Tree Tenders throughout our engagement efforts. We continue to conduct neighborhood tree care and education sessions.

California-Kirkbride Community Organizations

Stay up-to-date on what’s happening in California-Kirkbride by visiting the community organization pages below!

Why California-Kirkbride

California-Kirkbride has a tree canopy coverage of 27.07%, compared to the City average of 42%. The neighborhood lacks parks and greenways and has limited areas for residents to enjoy nature and its benefits. This phenomenon also exaggerates heat island effects in the community, which have adverse effects on residents, including high electricity bills for cooling in the summer, more incidences of asthma, and other heart health challenges within the population. Furthermore, elders and children in the community are most adversely affected by the lack of tree cover in key transportation corridors and play spaces.

Read the ReLeaf California-Kirkbride plan below.

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About ReLeaf

Tree Pittsburgh believes that everyone has a right to enjoy trees and the physical, mental, and social benefits they provide. Pittsburgh has an overall tree canopy of 42%, but this cover is not equally distributed. The ReLeaf Program is a necessary step to rectify these discrepancies and ensure all residents experience the benefits of a thriving urban forest. We concentrate our efforts on neighborhoods with insufficient tree canopy — which leads to heightened summer temperatures exacerbated by heat island challenges, compromised air quality, and localized flooding or stormwater runoff issues.