# Our City Forest

> San Jose nonprofit greening Silicon Valley since 1994 with free yard trees, a community nursery and AmeriCorps crews

Source: https://treerm.org/org/our-city-forest · Updated 2026-11-08 · Data license: CC BY 4.0 (https://treerm.org/about#license)

## Facts

- Type: Nonprofit
- Scope: Local
- Headquarters: San Jose, California, United States
- Founded: 1994
- Website: https://www.ourcityforest.org
- Volunteer sign-up: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/our-city-forest-27539527637
- Donate: https://www.ourcityforest.org/donate
- Events calendar: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/our-city-forest-27539527637
- Countries where they plant: United States
- Activity types: Urban forestry (primary), Tree adoption & giveaways, Nurseries & seedlings, Tree care & maintenance, Education & advocacy
- Trees on record: 80,000 (larger of latest cumulative figure and sum of annual figures; trees planted or distributed)

## About

Our City Forest has been San Jose's leading urban forestry nonprofit since 1994, planting and caring for trees across Santa Clara County with volunteers and an AmeriCorps program that has graduated more than 650 members since 2007. It grows drought-tolerant trees and shrubs at its Community Nursery and Training Center on Spring Street, provides free or donation-based 15-gallon yard trees to residents in grant-funded areas of San Jose and Sunnyvale with three years of follow-up care, runs the Lawn Busters lawn-conversion program and operates an Urban Forestry Education Center with an arboretum. The organization says it has planted and cared for more than 80,000 trees.

## Programs

- **Free Trees** — Tree adoption & giveaways: Free or donation-based 15-gallon yard trees for residents of grant-funded areas in San Jose and Sunnyvale, chosen at the Community Nursery, with planting and three years of care included. https://www.ourcityforest.org/free-trees
- **Community Nursery and Training Center** — Nurseries & seedlings: Volunteer-run nursery at 1000 Spring Street growing thousands of native and drought-tolerant trees, shrubs and grasses, with weekly workdays and an annual Fall Fest. https://www.ourcityforest.org/nursery
- **Tree Care** — Tree care & maintenance: Follow-up watering, pruning and stewardship of planted trees, including Tree Amigo volunteer stewards. https://www.ourcityforest.org/tree-care
- **Urban Forestry Education Center** — Education & advocacy: Arboretum and demonstration gardens at 391 Chynoweth Avenue hosting workshops, DIY lawn-conversion classes and Saturday volunteer workdays. https://www.ourcityforest.org/educationcenter

## Metrics

> Note: Our City Forest publishes no annual report or yearly planting totals; its only organization-wide figure is 'planted and cared for more than 80,000 trees' (2026 gala page), which mixes planted and maintained trees. Third-party listings cite anywhere from 65,000 to over 100,000 trees since 1994, and the Form 990 program narrative could not be retrieved, so no annual trees-planted figure is listed.

| Metric | Year | Value | Cumulative | Program | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---:|---|---|---|---|
| Funds raised (USD) | 2025 | 2,636,712 | no (that year) | organization-wide | Self-reported | [source](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/770371911) ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Form 990 for fiscal year ending June 2025: total revenue $2,636,712 (expenses $2,358,042) |
| Trees planted | 2026 | 80,000 | yes (to date) | organization-wide | Self-reported | [source](https://www.ourcityforest.org/gala/2026/2/23/our-city-forests-2026-growing-our-future-gala) 2026 Growing Our Future Gala page: since 1994 Our City Forest has 'planted and cared for more than 80,000 trees across Santa Clara County' (figure combines planted and cared-for trees) |

Confidence: self-reported is the organization's own published figure; independently verified means a third party confirmed it; estimated means TreeRM derived it and the note says how.

## Upcoming events

- 2026-10-30 — Greening Tully Fields with Our City Forest! (Phases 3-6) (Nursery workday), San Jose — register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/greening-tully-fields-with-our-city-forest-phases-3-6-tickets-2004023722902 — https://treerm.org/events/our-city-forest/greening-tully-fields-with-our-city-forest-phases-3-6-2026-10-30.md
- 2026-11-07 — Emma Prusch Farm Park Community Planting with Our City Forest (Volunteer planting), San Jose — register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/emma-prusch-farm-park-community-planting-with-our-city-forest-tickets-2002661791328 — https://treerm.org/events/our-city-forest/emma-prusch-farm-park-community-planting-with-our-city-forest-2026-11-07.md
- 2026-11-12 — Nursery Workday (Nursery workday), San Jose — register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nursery-workday-tickets-1992577050597 — https://treerm.org/events/our-city-forest/nursery-workday-2026-11-12.md
- 2026-11-14 — Shrub Processing Workshop @ Fall Fest (Training / workshop), San Jose — register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shrub-processing-workshop-fall-fest-tickets-2004442024052 — https://treerm.org/events/our-city-forest/shrub-processing-workshop-fall-fest-2026-11-14.md
- 2026-11-14 — Oak Propagation Workshop @ Fall Fest (Training / workshop), San Jose — register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/oak-propagation-workshop-fall-fest-tickets-2004444916704 — https://treerm.org/events/our-city-forest/oak-propagation-workshop-fall-fest-2026-11-14.md
- 2026-11-14 — Fall Fest at the Nursery 2026 (Other), San Jose — register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fall-fest-at-the-nursery-2026-tickets-2003438416234 — https://treerm.org/events/our-city-forest/fall-fest-at-the-nursery-2026-2026-11-14.md
- 2026-11-14 — Mason Bee Hotel Workshop @ Fall Fest (Training / workshop), San Jose — register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mason-bee-hotel-workshop-fall-fest-tickets-2004445902653 — https://treerm.org/events/our-city-forest/mason-bee-hotel-workshop-fall-fest-2026-11-14.md
- 2026-11-14 — Camellia Workshop @ Fall Fest (Training / workshop), San Jose — register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/camellia-workshop-fall-fest-tickets-2004446479378 — https://treerm.org/events/our-city-forest/camellia-workshop-fall-fest-2026-11-14.md
- 2026-11-14 — Vermicompost Workshop @ Fall Fest (Training / workshop), San Jose — register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vermicompost-workshop-fall-fest-tickets-2004446686999 — https://treerm.org/events/our-city-forest/vermicompost-workshop-fall-fest-2026-11-14.md
- 2026-11-14 — Container Planting Workshop @ Fall Fest (Volunteer planting), San Jose — register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/container-planting-workshop-fall-fest-tickets-2004447040055 — https://treerm.org/events/our-city-forest/container-planting-workshop-fall-fest-2026-11-14.md
- 2026-11-21 — DIY Lawn Conversion Workshop (Training / workshop), San Jose — register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/diy-lawn-conversion-workshop-tickets-1979912109417 — https://treerm.org/events/our-city-forest/diy-lawn-conversion-workshop-2026-11-21.md
- 2026-11-21 — Urban Forestry Education Center Workday (Tree care workday), San Jose — register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/urban-forestry-education-center-workday-tickets-1990912464776 — https://treerm.org/events/our-city-forest/urban-forestry-education-center-workday-2026-11-21.md

## Links

- instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ourcityforest
- facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ourcityforest

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