Advocacy: AB 57 Pocket Forests for California

Thanks to Assemblymember Ash Kalra, we have a chance to grow wild and diverse forests across California! His Assembly Bill 57 creates a pilot program to deliver pocket forests statewide.

To make sure the bill passes, California ReLeaf is helping coordinate a letter to the legislature. We hope you will join us in supporting the passage of this legislation and signing on to the support letter (see below).

About Pocket Forests

Pocket Forests are small plots of urban land densely planted with indigenous plant species. They provide a wide range of human health benefits, build climate resiliency and mitigate extreme heat, advance equity and access to the benefits of nature — all while enhancing ecological biodiversity and supporting pollinator corridors. Download and Read the Proposed Bill.

Why this is important

Pocket forests offer access to healthy, self‐sustaining natural green areas that benefit communities, individuals, and the state’s natural environment.

How you can help in two easy steps!

  1. Sign on to the support letter as an Organization
  2. Create an account for your organization on the California Legislative Position Letter Portal – it is a one-time registration that California ReLeaf will use to find your organization and connect it with this and future letters that you choose to take a position on

Deadline to Sign-On: Sunday, March 5th

Questions? Please reach out to California ReLeaf’s Grants and Public Policy Manager, Victoria Vasquez, by phone at 916-627-8575 or by email at vvasquez[at]californiareleaf.org.

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Sign-On Letter

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RE: Assembly Bill 57 (Kalra)   ̶  SUPPORT

Dear Chair Rivas and Members of the Committee,

On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we are pleased to offer our strong support for Assembly Bill 57, which will establish a California Pocket Forest Initiative administered by the Urban and Community Forestry Department of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

This initiative will support additional urban tree canopy and biodiverse natural habitats by the creation of small pocket forests within urban areas – where 95% of the population live in California. Greater tree canopy in urban areas provides a wide range of human health benefits for communities, including climate resiliency for communities by mitigating extreme heat.

The pocket forests proposed in AB 57 will provide these benefits for California communities while supporting greater ecological biodiversity and pollinator corridors within urban areas. We greatly appreciate that the bill prioritizes underserved communities that lack access to public green space and therefore need more parks.

We also appreciate the recognition that the Miyawaki Method will be adjusted as needed to be compatible with California’s unique ecological features and challenges.

For these reasons, we are in strong support of AB 57 and urge you to vote in favor of this bill.

Sincerely,

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