California

At State Farm, a Good Neighbor is a Green Neighbor™

State Farm works with organizations throughout the U.S. to help build safer and greener communities. With many of America’s cities burdened with the sight, sound, and feel of concrete there are some cities looking to turn a new leaf.

The approach taken by Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) to build greener and healthier communities is to work one tree at a time, one street at a time, and one neighborhood at a time. Economically underserved areas of San Francisco are a particular focus for FUF. Increasing the city’s tree canopy has environmental and economic benefits, including improving the health and “curb appeal” of any neighborhood.

FUF uses the “it takes a village” approach to raising each and every tree it plants. An army of volunteers participate in planting and caring for trees. Each tree is selected for its specific site and needs three years of steady nurturing before it is deemed prepared to survive on its own. It is a slow and steady process that has been in effect since the first planting on Arbor Day in 1980.

State Farm is a new community partner to the FUF, and is proud to announce a $2,500 grant for the 2010/2011 planting season. For more information on State Farm’s commitment to building green communities, please go to State Farm’s environment page on statefarm.com.

For more information on the Friends of the Urban Forest, please go to http://www.fuf.net/.