Scott Wilson &
The Story of North East Trees

Scott Wilson—a humble, cheerful and very determined man—had a simple motto: “More trees are better.” Scott loved working with young people, he loved his Northeast Los Angeles community (ahhh, now our name is starting to make sense!), and he loved bringing nature back to the urban environment. His skills as a schoolteacher, landscape architect and certified arborist all came together when Scott started North East Trees over thirty years ago.

And so, out of his simple but ambitious post-retirement goal to plant five trees a day, our organization was born. With Scott out of the house, his beloved wife Clarli got a little more peace and quiet, and the city of Los Angeles got a whole lot greener. 

In 1989, Scott and a hardy group of volunteers, planted a large stand of oaks on Fiji Hill at Occidental College in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles. One man’s extraordinary vision was taking root.

This small non-profit outfit, which incorporated in 1991, soon became a major force in the urban greening world. North East Trees was responsible for creating and building numerous pocket parks along the Los Angeles River—often working closely with Friends of the Los Angeles River founder Lewis MacAdams. Quickly, Scott’s little “backyard” organization expanded beyond its home quadrant of the city, delivering eco-friendly projects from Long Beach to the San Fernando Valley. (“Northeast of Catalina Island!” quipped Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge.)

Always, the vision has been to empower people in their own communities to make their surroundings greener, to make their futures brighter. Look at a map of Los Angeles today, and you won’t go too far without seeing the footprint of North East Trees. Hundreds of young people have helped transform the landscape, and their own futures, on our crews.

Scott passed away in 2011 at the age of 89, but his legacy will live on forever. Not just in the dozens of parks and hundreds of thousands of trees that North East Trees is responsible for, but through the generations of environmental champions he helped empower.