For the past 30 years, TreePeople - a nonprofit environmental organization - has inspired people to improve their Los Angeles region through the care and planting of nearly two million trees. One current program, Generation Earth - contracted by the Los Angeles County Public Works Department - works with students and teachers to provide resources for service learning projects. For participating teachers who are interested in composting or vermicomposting, Generation Earth connects them with resources available throughout the county, explains Marisa Walker of TreePeople. Generation Earth strongly encourages schools that are participating in the Battle of the Schools Waste Reduction Competition to reduce cafeteria waste by composting on their campus or trying a worm bin in the classroom.

Citizen Forester training instructs residents on how to get trees planted in their neighborhoods, as well as getting approvals from the city, continues Walker. Home Forester training teaches property owners how to adapt their landscaping to prevent stormwater runoff from their property, "touting the benefits of both mulch and compost. ...Our integrated approach to watershed management, which combines the best organic solutions such as trees with visionary man-made technologies like cisterns, mimics nature's own system for capturing stormwater runoff and reducing the flow of pollutants to our oceans."For more details on TreePeople programs, contact Marisa Walker via email at mwalker@treepeople.org