SF nonprofit Friends of the Urban Forest connects people through ‘greening’

On any given weekend in San Francisco, they meet in a predesignated location, wearing adhesive tags with preferred first names and pronouns, hard hats and gloves. While working together and using equipment such as ladders, barrels, shovels, hammers, stakes and stake drivers for the task at hand, they chat, smile and laugh. They are Friends of the Urban Forest volunteers, from all walks of life, united in the effort to green the city by the Bay.

According to executive director Brian Wiedenmeier, the mission of Friends of the Urban Forest is simple: “It’s to connect people with nature and each other, to plant and grow and care for San Francisco’s trees and gardens.”