Arbor Day Foundation Planted Trees At Los Angeles-Area School Impacted By Devastating Eaton Fire

Trees intended to spark hope and recovery for impacted students and families

LINCOLN, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--One year after the Eaton Fire that blazed through Los Angeles County, the Arbor Day Foundation collaborated with local partners and community members to grow hope at an elementary school impacted by the fire. Volunteers joined the Foundation’s local tree planting partner Amigos de los Rios on Saturday to plant trees and greenery at Mary W. Jackson STEAM Multilingual Magnet Elementary School, located within the burn zone of the Eaton Fire.

“The students and staff in this school district have endured such immense challenges in the wake of the Eaton Fire, and they deserve to enjoy a welcoming, thriving environment to learn. We believe enhancing campus green spaces with new trees and plants will help provide hope and healing for this community as they continue on their path to recovery,” said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “We’re grateful for the collaboration of our corporate partners and local planting partner to help make a meaningful impact through trees.”

“Public schools, such as Mary Jackson STEAM Magnet, serve as critical community hubs and gathering spaces. Now more than ever, post-fire, we want school community members to feel the campus is well cared for and to make sure that students and teachers can benefit from beautiful outdoor spaces that are inspiring and reassuring. We are very grateful for the Arbor Day Foundation’s support,” said Claire Robinson, founder and managing director of Amigos de los Rios.

Project supporters include AT&T, Fera Pets, Seyfarth, Niagara Cares, and Edward Jones. The latter two also supported emergency tree watering last fall to protect the remaining trees that survived the fire.

The Eaton Fire started on January 7, 2025 and burned 14,000 acres in the Altadena and Pasadena areas. According to the Pasadena Educational Foundation, more than 1,000 families throughout the school district and 200 staff members lost their homes in the fire.

The Arbor Day Foundation has been heavily invested in assisting disaster-affected communities and forestlands since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005 and has planted and distributed millions of trees as a result. The work has aided recovery efforts following wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods.

Restoring tree cover after a wildfire isn’t quick or easy. Fire damages the land so severely it can take years before trees are ready to be planted in some areas. Visit arborday.org to learn more about the long road to recovery and what it takes to replant after a wildfire.

About the Arbor Day Foundation

The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. They foster a growing community of more than 1 million leaders, innovators, planters, and supporters united by their bold belief that a more hopeful future can be shaped through the power of trees. For more than 50 years, they’ve answered critical need with action, planting more than half a billion trees alongside their partners.

And this is only the beginning.

The Arbor Day Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit pursuing a future where all life flourishes through the power of trees. Learn more at arborday.org.