Talking Trees

EPISODE 12 — Talking Trees

SPEAKERS

Emily Harwitz (host), Ben Friedman (guest), Geenah-Marie Leslie (guest)

[INTRO MUSIC]

Emily Harwitz 00:00

Hey everybody, welcome to the last episode of Season 4 of I’ll Go If You Go. I”m your host, Emily Harwitz. This season, we’ve explored some of the many different kinds of jobs you can have in the world of conservation, some outdoors and some inside. Today, we’re pulling back the curtain on a little something that makes conservation work possible: funding. Where does the money come from to conserve land and do restoration? Or run interpretation and education programs? 

Two of the main sources of conservation funding are government agencies and philanthropy, or donations from individuals. To walk us through working with government agencies at the state and federal levels is Ben Friedman, Government Affairs and Public Grants Officer at Save the Redwoods League. And to share what it’s like to work with individual donors at a local level is Geenah Leslie, Donor Relations Manager at Friends of the Urban Forest.

In today’s conversations, pay attention to the fact that, even when it’s about fundraising, it’s about more than just money. And stay tuned til the end of the episode for some personal reflections on what I’ve learned from this season.

[MUSIC]

Emily Harwitz 01:07

We’re recording live from the Save the red Redwoods League office in downtown San Francisco with our special guest today, Ben Friedman.

Ben Friedman 01:14

Hi, good morning. I’m Ben Friedman. I’m the Government Affairs and Public Grants Officer for Save the Redwoods League.

Emily Harwitz 01:20

What does that mean?

Ben Friedman 01:23

All of the pieces of the League where there is a need for either government funding to do our work or some interaction with government agencies or elected officials, I am overseeing those processes, like, how do we talk about the importance of the work that Save the Redwoods League does with elected officials at the State or in the federal level, and how do we make the case to these federal or state agencies that give out money for conservation projects that the League needs and is worthy for these investments to protect our redwoods?

Emily Harwitz 02:01

So your role focuses around getting funding for the conservation projects that the League is doing.

Ben Friedman 02:06

Yes, absolutely.

Emily Harwitz 02:08

What do you like best about your role?

Ben Friedman 02:10

What I like best about my role is that the League does so many different things, and I get a chance to learn about and advocate for all of the different pieces that the League does. You know, the League has these different pillars of our mission—protect, restore and connect—so I am a part of, or I’m learning about those projects in each of these pillars, and then going out and basically advocating for the work that all of my colleagues do. So the folks that are working on restoration, they need a grant to protect giant sequoias from, you know, climate induced wildfire. I am going out to these government agencies and saying, ‘We need to restore sequoias. We have these experts,’ and I’m sort of helping to translate the need so that there’s a case to be made for funding to protect sequoias and redwoods.

Emily Harwitz 03:03

So not only are you understanding the nitty gritty nuts and bolts of the funding the policy issues, but then you’re going and telling stories about these—compelling stories—to our lawmakers, our policymakers.

Ben Friedman 03:16

Yeah, as much as possible. That is actually a huge part of this government affairs job is trying to be a storyteller, trying to frame the work in a way that is compelling to these people who have the purse strings, people who are making decisions about how our lands are managed, how they prioritize different projects within their jurisdictions, where the different communities they represent. And so a lot of the job that I do is trying to learn from our experts at Save the Redwoods League. Like, I’m not a land management expert, but learning from our experts at the League, and then translating the information that they know and pitching it to government folks in a way that they will understand and feel is important to pay attention to and invest in for us and for our members and our partners.

Emily Harwitz 04:12

So people skills is also really important in this role.

Ben Friedman 04:16

Yes, I think so. And also just like an interest in meeting people where they are, I suppose. Every person has their own context, and in some ways, politicians are really weird, right? Because they they have to express very externally what their priorities are and who they are in this sort of politicy way. But what that also means is that it’s sort of easier to give that back to them and say, ‘We hear you that you care about clean water or clean air. And so given that redwoods are this incredible engine for making sure that communities have clean water and clean air, you need to protect redwoods.’ That’s the sort of rhetorical trick that comes with the gig, I think.

Emily Harwitz 04:59

Yeah, that sounds quite fun—problem solving, kind of like, it’s like a puzzle, you know, how do you fit the League’s priorities in with whoever politician you’re talking to? How did those align?

Ben Friedman 05:10

That’s right. And so, you know, sometimes that includes, like, researching politicians and what makes them tick, or do they like to fish? Do they have a family that they talk about all the time? Where did they grow up? There is some of that sort of, you know, friendly stalking that goes into building relationships with with with decision makers, where the more that you can relate to people who are taking tons of meetings every day, trying to balance a million different things, the more that you can sort of make the case for your priorities in a way that they will understand the better. I mean, what’s great about Save the Redwoods League is like, our priorities are really beautiful and wonderful and special, and it’s like, not a, necessarily a controversial thing to say, ‘Everyone deserves to have access to the outdoors. Everyone deserves to have access to clean water and clean air.’ Those things can resonate with with with everybody.

Emily Harwitz 06:08

That’s a really good point, and I like what you said about relationship building and how that’s a key element to this role. How much do you think, like when you work with politicians, how much is it building a personal relationship versus building relationship based on shared priorities?

Ben Friedman 06:23

That’s a good question. I think that there is some—you have to balance sort of efficiency of, this is what the meeting is about, like, this is what we have to get done, this is the ask, so to speak, like this is what we’re asking for—with the that sort of intentionality of, you’re a person, I’m a person, we’re trying to find some mutual agreement and sort of lift up both sides of the relationship. We’re blessed in California to have a lot of decision makers who care about the environment, and so it’s not a case of necessarily having to convince an opponent that, like nature is good. So there, there is some shared ground that’s like, sort of immediately found, I think. But then, yeah, there is an element of like, this is what we need, how can we find some common ground?

Emily Harwitz 07:10

One of the specific projects I know you’re working on is the Climate Resilience bond, which is going to be on the ballot this November in California. And before we get into what that is and why it’s important, can you tell us in a nutshell, how does a state bond work?

Ben Friedman 07:25

Yeah, that’s right. There is a very important bond on the ballot in November. And so how state bonds work is that first, let’s just be specific to California here. First, the California legislature, the Assembly and the Senate, have to decide whether or not they would like for a bond to be on the ballot. And so they have to pass bills through the state legislature saying we are going to put a ballot measure on the your voting ballot for November. And so first the legislature passes a ballot measure, the governor either vetoes it or sort of signs it approves it, and then the action goes from the California State Legislature to the voters. So this climate bond was voted and approved by the legislature in early July, and now in November, when all of us, when all Californians, go to the ballot box in November to vote on everything from your local elected officials to the president, there will also be an opportunity to vote yes or no on this climate bond. It’ll be called Prop 4—Proposition 4—and this, like its whole title, is the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond.

Emily Harwitz 08:51

Well, that sounds pretty good.

Ben Friedman 08:53

Yeah, I agree.

Emily Harwitz 08:54

I mean, all things that we want, right?

Ben Friedman 08:55

That’s right, yeah. It is a massive investment in a whole suite of different programs that make California more resilient to climate change, make our communities safer and more healthy, and protect the land and water that we love and rely on, for mental health, for recreation, for clean air and water itself. It does a lot of different really important things.

Emily Harwitz 09:21

So since this season is all about jobs—different jobs you can work in the outdoors and in conservation environmental fields—will this bond create new jobs?

Ben Friedman 09:34

Yes, the bond will create new jobs because the bond invests in so many different types of programs and activities. We’re going to need people to do those things. For instance, there’s a huge part of the bond that is based on water infrastructure. So we’re going to need engineers and groundwater experts and different types of sort of technical expertise on water for people to go in and make sure that our water infrastructure is healthy and is like delivering clean water to our communities. Another whole piece of this is wildfire resilience and reduction. That’s a big important thing for the League. Obviously, healthy wildfire is one thing that supports our ecosystems, but with climate change, there’s more devastating wildfires which is a really big problem for redwoods and sequoias, and a ton of money in the bond will go to that sort of wildfire resilience work, clearing, cutting, restoration work in our forests. And again, there are people that we will need to do these jobs, because it’d be such a big investment in that type of wildfire resilience work that there’s going to be more demand for more individuals to get involved in sort of forest restoration. I know we’ve heard from folks like that during this season of the podcast. And we’re going to need more people like that so that our forests are healthy.

Emily Harwitz 11:05

And how will this affect State Parks?

Ben Friedman 11:08

It’ll be really beneficial to our state park system. There’s literally hundreds of millions of dollars in the bond to improve our state park system, including there’s, I think, $200 million earmarked for park creation, specifically in park poor communities across their state. But there’s also a huge investment in maintenance and addressing a deferred maintenance backlog, so the existing parks will have have better infrastructure so families can feel safer, you know, running through fields or going to restrooms or whatever, in parks we have across the state. So there is a massive investment in not only taking care of the parks that we have, but also creating new parks for everybody.

Emily Harwitz 11:51

So essentially, the creation of new California State Parks.

Ben Friedman 11:54

That’s right. This bond could absolutely turn into new state parks on the ground across a ton of different geographies in the state.

Emily Harwitz 12:04

That’s exciting.

Ben Friedman 12:05

It’s so exciting, right? I mean, that’s such a core part of what the League does, is thinking about, how do we help protect these really special places and get them ready so that communities can enjoy them. And State Parks is a huge component of that. So if there’s more money that this bond can deliver so that State Parks can help, like, acquire these lands from us or from other entities, and then manage them for everybody to enjoy them, to think about the design of these parks, so it’s more inclusive, so it’s more equitable to think about and accessible—yeah, absolutely. Like all of those things require investment, and that’s exactly what this bond is doing.

Emily Harwitz 12:42

Is there anything that you’d like to leave our listeners with?

Ben Friedman 12:45

Well, for sure, one thing I want to encourage everyone to do is to vote yes on Prop 4. This climate resilient bond, Propr 4, does so many things for California. It prevents wildfires, it protects clean air and water. It protects the parks, the redwoods, the trees that we all love, and all of those things, clean air, clean water and outdoor protection creates a safer and more equitable California that we all want to enjoy. So go out there and vote.

Emily Harwitz 13:15

Elections are coming up. Go look at the measures on your ballot and make sure to vote in November. Exercise your right.

Ben Friedman 13:21

Yeah, well said.

[MUSIC]

Emily Harwitz 13:32

I’m here today recording in a beautiful community garden in Portrero Hill with Geenah Leslie, Donor Relations Manager of Friends of the Urban Forest.

Geenah Leslie 13:40

Thanks, Emily. Hi, nice to be here. The mission of Friends of the Urban Forest is to connect people with nature and each other by planting and caring for San Francisco street trees and sidewalk gardens. We do this through tree planting, tree care and maintenance, so caring for our young trees—we do so the first three years after planting them—and we also plant sidewalk gardens that beautify our neighborhoods as well as provide natural habitats for some of our local pollinators. And we engage with our community through volunteer and educational events. We give away native tree species to eligible San Francisco residents. And we also have a workforce development opportunities for local urban forestry enthusiasts.

Geenah Leslie 14:24

I was really drawn to the organization through the values. There’s a total of five: environmental justice, stewardship, trust, community and joy. And 2021 was before my time, our ED Now Brian joined the team, and he brought with him, sort of a shift and a focus and a commitment to ensuring more equitable distribution of street trees throughout the city, bringing the benefits to communities and to neighborhoods that have historically been left out of these efforts. And so I was really excited to work with an organization that made such an intentional shift in their work. All of that is really interconnected and important to me, and I was just really excited to be a part of an organization that was just taking this sort of step forward in that right direction. I was also really inspired by the workforce development branch. I come from a family of educators. Shout out to my mom and sister and godmother. They are and they have been teachers, and they’ve really sort of shown me the value there is in nurturing our young minds and thought and decision makers of tomorrow, and it’s really part of the sustainability efforts in maintaining the integration of the next generation of these thought leaders and decision makers.

Emily Harwitz 15:37

I want to hear more about your role at Friends. What do you do and what’s your favorite thing about it?

Geenah Leslie 15:44

I am the donor relations manager at Friends, so I work to cultivate and grow what is known as our mid range-level donors. And my goals are to really focus on this donor journey and create and manage communications of this group of donors, as well as engagement plans that are specialized to each unique giving level. I really work to understand how it is that folks want to be engaged with Friends, why they’d work to support friends and really ensure that they are understanding the impact that their generous contribution is having, not just on our work, but on the mission at large. And so I do this through just having conversations with them, and, yeah, working to really just understand that donor journey. When I say mid range, I’m referring a little less about the dollar amount, or the amount of the gift, and more so about the engagement levels, because the terms “mid range,” “major donor,” that can vary from organization to organization—but mid range refers to the folks that don’t just give once, but aren’t quite at that “major level” donor. And so we find that this specific group of people have very unique cultivation needs and stewardship needs.

Emily Harwitz 16:52

Can you say more about that?

Geenah Leslie 16:54

Yeah, these are what philanthropy referred to as the engagement seeker. So they really want to understand the work. They want to be more engaged and involved. They’re usually pretty loyal. They give over time, and their gifts really amount to a really great impact on the work. And so we want to make sure that they really understand the impact that their their support has over the years.

Emily Harwitz 17:13

It’s really interesting to me that you use the words cultivate and steward, because those are words we use in restoration as well. You’re restoring an ecosystem nature. You cultivate and steward a garden, for example, like the garden that we’re in right now. Relationships are like that as well. You can plant them, water them, nourish them.

Geenah Leslie 17:30

Yeah. Relationships, exactly. They’re living, breathing, entities. And I think that that is really what my favorite thing is about the position. You know, I’m not managing gifts, I’m not managing grants—I’m managing relationships, and I get to spend my time cultivating these relationships with not just people, but like-minded people, fellow tree nerds and tree lovers. And I get to use my skills in a really unique way that might not really seem connected to the typical dream job—I’m not an ecologist, I’m not a plant biologist. I took a couple of botany classes in college, and I can maybe remember one or two scientific names, but that might be kind of generous, of trees. I always like to say that I loved science, but I don’t know if science loved me quite the same way, and my brain, just like didn’t really work to understand those numbers and the impact, but I really loved it, and I wanted to make sure that I had an impact in the things that I love to do. And I still get to have an impact on our urban forestry. I get to walk around in my neighborhood and see the physical manifestation of my work. I see that tree with our Friend’s logo on it, and I know that my work and my efforts made a contribution to not just that tree, but to the benefits it brings to myself and to my community at large. And I think that’s really my favorite part.

Emily Harwitz 18:44

Anyone who walks by that tree will benefit.

Geenah Leslie 18:46

Exactly, exactly.

Emily Harwitz 18:48

What’s something that surprised you about this role?

Geenah Leslie 18:51

What most surprised me, I think, is the loyalty of some of our donors. You know, Friends of the Urban Forest has been around for quite some time, since the early 80s, so a little over 40 years, and over that time, as a society, we’ve hit some economic highs and some economic lows. And I think especially over the past few years, we’ve seen what is referred to as like a dip in philanthropic giving and a shift in giving trends. And even with that, and it’s in the age of the web, it just feels so hard to stay afloat with so many different things going on and so many different causes to support. And even with that, we have donors that I’ve spoken to that have been giving to us for well over a decade, and I think that that is so special for them to just have this sort of unwavering, continued support for us. And it really just makes me want to sort of give back to them and show that appreciation. And I don’t know if there is one single thing that I could do that can encapsulate all of the appreciation and gratitude that we have for their support, but I get to show up every day at work, and I get to try that, and I think I really like that.

Emily Harwitz 19:58

So for fundraising for nonprofits—obviously, any organization needs a certain amount of funding to continue their operations, but I’m wondering, hearing about how you manage donor relations, it sounds like there’s so much more than just the money that donors can give. Why would you say fundraising is important for nonprofits, and what skills or personality would make someone a good fit for working in fundraising, donor relations, development?

Geenah Leslie 20:24

Yeah, like you said, the obvious answer is, that’s the reality that we live in. We need the funds to do the work. We need the funds to maintain community efforts, collaboration, thoughtfulness, all of that creativity. And what’s really imperative in my work as a fundraiser is securing what’s called “unrestricted funds.” So a lot of gifts that we get can be earmarked for specific programs like tree watering or tree care, even workforce development, but the unrestricted funds really goes to support a lot of the behind-the-scenes efforts like office operations or even staff wages, all of that’s needed to really keep our programs afloat and to keep our mission alive.

Geenah Leslie 21:01

Most importantly, or rather, I guess, an aspect that keeps fundraising and fund development in this cycle is the work of cultivating the relationships with the donors. I think it’s really important to remember, especially when working with individual people—so not foundations or corporations, but just your average Joe, your human being—is that you know they are human beings. They’re not ATM machines, and they are worthy of thoughtfulness and respect, and it is a symbiotic relationship that you’re having with donors. Yes, they are giving you the opportunity to continue your work with their generosity, but in return, you are also giving them the opportunity to engage with you in a really thoughtful and intentional way and to really understand the impact of their gift, and I think that that’s really special. And what I really love so much about fund development is that I think any type of person or personality can do it, especially if you’re working for a mission or an organization that you’re really aligned with and excited to talk about. I would consider myself to be pretty shy and an introvert, and fund relationships and fund development has actually helped me to grow more confident in my speaking skills and connecting with people, just because I just get to talk about our common shared interests. Like, you like trees, I like trees. You like environmental justice, I like tree equity. I can sit and do that all day.

Emily Harwitz 22:18

How does planting and caring for trees and sidewalk gardens help mitigate global environmental problems like climate change?

Geenah Leslie 22:25

I’m also really excited to answer this question. So the EPA, that is the Environmental Protection Agency, acknowledges our urban forest as what’s called “green infrastructure,” and they do a lot to mitigate some of the challenges that climate change brings. So for one, there’s the cooling effect that trees bring. They provide not just shade, but actually releasing water vapor into the air. And most of us have also heard about what’s referred to as our carbon footprint. This is the amount of greenhouse gasses that are generated by a lot of our actions. So a lot of the moving vehicles, which we might hear in the background, or the food that we eat, or even the sort of energy that we use—and so these escalating emissions of these greenhouse gasses is what is causing our planet to warm, and the trees and gardens work to mitigate that and counteract this by acting like a carbon sink, so they absorb a lot of the CO2, the carbon dioxide, and then turn that into oxygen, which is what we need to breathe and to inhabit this beautiful planet. Trees also work as filters for airborne pollutants. They give us fresh, clean air to breathe and provide natural habitats for our pollinators—so the birds and the insects—so that they can thrive and then go on to support the continuation of our ecosystems. Trees also help capture excess rainfall, as we’ve sort of experienced these past few years, especially here in the Bay Area in California. We all are part of this symbiotic ecosystem, and we all have a part to play, and we all have a part to receive as well, and trees are definitely not excluded from that.

Geenah Leslie 24:00

I think one of the less spoken benefits of trees and sidewalk gardens, in regards to climate change, is the hope that they bring. We know that trees and plants provide so many benefits to our mental health and personal well-being. It inspires and builds confidence, and with the weight of the world just being so heavy, trees always are here to remind me, at least, to stay grounded, stand tall, and give selflessly. They remind me that I’m not just one individual, but connected to a larger ecosystem, and the things that I do can and do have an impact.

Emily Harwitz 24:30

T hat’s beautiful. Wow. Trees give us so much! I loved hearing you articulate all those points, because I think, as you say them, it just makes so much sense. And it’s the kind of stuff that seems obvious, but you don’t really think about it until it’s in front of you, until you hear someone talk about it, especially that last point you mentioned, about how trees give us hope. I think it’s so important that we have trees to ground us. Yeah, when I think about the benefits of an urban forest and having trees all around us, I think a lot about just the everyday beauty that they can provide. There’s so many—there’s just so many benefits!

Emily Harwitz 25:08

Yeah!

Emily Harwitz 25:09

OK, well, Geenah, thank you so much for joining us today on I’ll Go If You Go. I had so much fun learning about Friends of the Urban Forest and about our urban forest itself.

Geenah Leslie 25:18

Yeah, thanks so much for having me.

Emily Harwitz 25:22

Woo we made it to the end! I love that message of hope, appreciation, and grounding that trees give us. Something that really stood out to me about today’s conversations is that what drives even fundraising work is relationships based on shared values and a commitment to make the world a better place.

That’s really what I’ll Go If You Go is about: Exploring outdoors, Connecting with nature, Building community, and Reimagining conservation. And this season, through all the different kinds of jobs we’ve explored and incredible guests we’ve gotten to know, we’ve seen that this work needs all of us, with our unique perspectives and skills. We’re all in this together, and there’s a place for everyone in conservation.

This season is produced by Leslie Parra and hosted, edited, and sound engineered by Emily Harwitz. Thank you to Adam Kaplan for tech support, and Caleb Castle, Marcos Castineiras, and Mary McPheely for graphic design and media support. Theme song and music by Nhu Nguyen and Anni Feng. You can find seasons one, two, and three wherever you listen to podcasts or on savetheredwoods.org where you can also find transcripts of each episode. 

And that’s a wrap on this season. See ya out there!

[OUTRO MUSIC]

Emily Harwitz 21:24