Canopy is a left-of-center climate advocacy group founded in 1996 in Palo Alto, California that is focused on issues related to trees. Canopy selects and trains youth leaders in activist practices based upon their racial status. ¹ Canopy claims that a “lack of trees in urban areas widens social inequalities and harms public health, ecosystem health, and community well-being.” ²

Philosophy

Canopy adopts critical race theory-aligned policies in its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Canopy states that its programs are “at the nexus of environmental justice, nature education, and community resilience.” ³ Canopy also notes that it “prioritizes tree planting, stewardship, education, and advocacy in communities where people do not have a thriving urban forest due to limited resources, competing priorities, and historical development and urbanization patterns.” ⁴

Environmentalist Activities

Canopy’s 2021-2022 advocacy project, “From Gray to Green: A Urban Forest Master Plan for East Palo Alto,” uses critical race theory-aligned notions of “equity” as its thesis. ⁵ Catherine Martineau, Canopy’s former executive director, highlighted, “As the smallest city in Silicon Valley, with a largely BIPOC population, East Palo Alto has historically faced socioeconomic challenges rooted in systemic racism and disinvestment.” ⁶

Canopy trains climate activists and teaches students advocacy through leadership and educational programs. In 2018, Canopy launched its urban forest steward program. ⁷ Its 2022 program focused on “local environmental justice issues related to trees, such as how residents in neighborhoods that lack trees also experience poorer physical and mental health, and how the lack of forethought in the design of certain city infrastructure…can prevent trees from being planted in areas where they would be very beneficial. ”⁸

Canopy provides a youth leadership program to train high school students in climate issues. The program managers select candidates using racial preferences. Juanita Ibarra, Youth Programs Coordinator, states, “The Teen Urban Forester program has always engaged BIPOC [Black, indigenous, and people of color] students… but we’ve made it a more explicit goal, especially to address the fact that people of color are underrepresented in environmental fields.” ⁹

Canopy also offers a series for high school students on ‘green careers’ in climate politics. In the series, students meet and begin “to plan their own work,” focusing on building careers as: “environmental justice advocacy, landscape architecture, materials recycling, research, and education.” ¹⁰

Funding

In 2021, Canopy received $51,000 from the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund (GSPF) and $50,000 from the Sandhill Foundation. ¹¹ In 2022, Canopy received $48,575 from the Schwab Charitable Fund. ¹²

People

As of April 2024, Canopy’s staff included Jean-Paul “JP” Renaud as its executive director. ¹³ Renaud previously worked with the U.S. Peace Corps as an Organizational Capacity Building Specialist in Ukraine and as the executive director of Communications for the UCLA College of Letters and Science. ¹⁴

Ally Bell is the Education Director at Canopy. ¹⁵ Bell has previously worked as an External Facilitator and Content Developer for McKinsey & Company. ¹⁶

1. “Teen Urban Foresters.” Canopy, February 8, 2024. https://canopy.org/our-work/education/teen-urban-foresters/
2. “Advocacy.” Canopy, August 30, 2022. https://canopy.org/our-work/advocacy/.
3. “A Personal Message.” Canopy Impact Report. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://sites.google.com/canopy.org/impact-2022/a-personal-message.
4. “Who We Are.” Canopy, February 23, 2023. https://canopy.org/about-us/who-we-are/.
5. “Advocacy Wins.” Canopy Impact Report, 2022. https://sites.google.com/canopy.org/impact-2022/home?authuser=0.
6. “Advocacy Wins.” Canopy Impact Report, 2022. https://sites.google.com/canopy.org/impact-2022/home?authuser=0.
7. “Canopy Impact Report – Urban Forest Stewards.” Canopy Impact Report – Urban forest stewards. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://sites.google.com/canopy.org/impact-2022/impact-highlights/urban-forest-stewards?authuser=0.
8. “Canopy Impact Report – Urban Forest Stewards.” Canopy Impact Report – Urban forest stewards. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://sites.google.com/canopy.org/impact-2022/impact-highlights/urban-forest-stewards?authuser=0.
9. “Canopy Impact Report – Youth Leaders Shine.” Canopy Impact Report – Youth leaders shine. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://sites.google.com/canopy.org/impact-2022/impact-highlights/youth-leaders-shine?authuser=0.
10. “Canopy Impact Report – Urban Forest Stewards.” Canopy Impact Report – Urban forest stewards. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://sites.google.com/canopy.org/impact-2022/impact-highlights/urban-forest-stewards?authuser=0.
11.  “Canopy.” Canopy | Palo Alto, CA | Cause IQ. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/canopy,010565752/#form990s.
12. “Canopy.” Canopy | Palo Alto, CA | Cause IQ. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/canopy,010565752/#form990s
13. “Staff.” Canopy, April 23, 2024. https://canopy.org/about-us/who-we-are/staff/.
14. “Staff.” Canopy, April 23, 2024. https://canopy.org/about-us/who-we-are/staff/.
15. “Staff.” Canopy, April 23, 2024. https://canopy.org/about-us/who-we-are/staff/.
16. “Allison Bell, M.Ed. .” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-bell-work.