School News

Students to Launch Second TREEAMS Nursery in Pacific Palisades

05/12/26

 

Students to Launch Second TREEAMS Nursery in Pacific Palisades as New Wildfire Recovery Model Expands Across Los Angeles

 

Students will grow trees for future replanting, complete bioremediation work, and help restore a highly visible site near Palisades Charter High School and the Pacific Palisades Woman’s Club.

 

MEDIA ADVISORY:

 

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA – May 19, 2026 – Students from across Los Angeles will gather on Tuesday, May 19 to launch the second TREEAMS (Trees + Dreams) tree nursery at Seven Arrows Elementary School’s Aldersgate Retreat Center in Pacific Palisades, marking the next phase of a student-led wildfire recovery model.

 

Inspired by Dr. Jane Goodall, TREEAMS is a student-led movement to plant 5,000 trees across Altadena, Pacific Palisades, Malibu and surrounding areas following the 2025 LA wildfires. 

 

Because many fire-impacted properties are not yet ready for replanting, EF Academy Pasadena and TREEAMS partners created an innovative nursery model: students grow young trees on school campuses and community sites now, care for them for the next 1–2 years, and then donate and plant them permanently in fire-impacted neighborhoods when properties are ready. 

 

The first TREEAMS nursery launched in April at EF Academy Pasadena, the temporary home of Altadena’s Saint Mark’s School, where students planted 30 native California sycamores and coast live oaks. The Pacific Palisades nursery is the second site and shows the model beginning to scale, with more schools expected to adopt TREEAMS nurseries this fall.

 

The May 19 event will also include the completion of a bioremediation and planting project on the Pacific Palisades Woman’s Club slope. TREEAMS is working with ecological restoration partner Center for Applied Ecological Remediation (CAER) to address fire-related soil contamination and model how communities can safely and sustainably re-landscape after wildfire. TREEAMS is also working with local landscape design and planting partner Palisades Forestry Committee to create a resilient landscape of mostly native trees that are compatible with the existing Coast Live Oak trees. 

 

WHEN:

Tuesday, May 19, 2026
10:00 – 11:30 AM

 

WHERE:

Aldersgate Retreat Center, 925 Haverford Ave, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

 

WHO:

  • TREEAMS student leaders (2nd and 5th grade) from Seven Arrows Elementary School of Pacific Palisades, students from Pacific Palisades Charter High School and Marquez Charter Elementary School

  • EF Academy Pasadena high school students who helped launch the first TREEAMS nursery and will teach younger students how to establish the Palisades nursery

  • TREEAMS Co-Founder Margarita Pagliai, Head of Seven Arrows Elementary School and Little Dolphins Preschool

  • Local officials, community leaders and wildfire recovery partners

  • Pacific Palisades Woman’s Club and ecological restoration partners

 

WHAT:

Students will launch the second TREEAMS tree nursery and complete related restoration work in Pacific Palisades.

Activities will include:

  • Transplanting approximately 30 young native trees from 5-gallon containers into larger 15-gallon containers

  • Establishing the Aldersgate TREEAMS nursery, where trees will be cared for over the next 1-2 years

  • Peer-to-peer teaching, with EF Academy students from the first TREEAMS nursery demonstrating the process for Seven Arrows students

  • Completing bioremediation and planting work on the Pacific Palisades Woman’s Club slope

  • Connecting hands-on student learning with reforestation, soil remediation, and long-term wildfire recovery

 

VISUALS FOR MEDIA:

  • Elementary and high school students transplanting young trees into nursery containers

  • EF Academy students teaching Seven Arrows students how to establish a TREEAMS nursery

  • Rows of newly planted nursery trees

  • Students completing hands-on soil remediation and planting work

  • Activity along a visible Pacific Palisades corridor near Palisades Charter High, Aldersgate and the Woman’s Club

  • Interviews with students, educators, community partners and ecological restoration experts

  • Visual connection between wildfire recovery, student leadership, and visible neighborhood restoration

 

 

PAST TREEAMS EVENTS:

 

WHY THIS MATTERS:

The Pacific Palisades nursery marks a significant milestone for TREEAMS: the shift from a first prototype in Pasadena to a growing model that can be adopted by schools across Los Angeles.

After the 2025 fires, students wanted to help replant their communities. But many properties are still not ready. Construction has barely begun in some areas, soil is still being remediated, and trees and landscaping will often come last in the rebuilding process.

 

TREEAMS gives students a way to act now. By growing trees on school campuses and community sites first, students can keep recovery moving while helping prepare trees for future planting in Altadena, Pacific Palisades, Malibu and surrounding communities.

 

The Palisades location is especially meaningful. Aldersgate sits near the Pacific Palisades Woman’s Club and across from Palisades Charter High School, in an area deeply impacted by the fires. The nursery and restoration work are intended to create a visible sign of progress, hope and renewal in a place community members pass every day.

 

The project also connects students from Altadena and Pacific Palisades/Malibu, two communities impacted by the 2025 fires, through a shared effort rooted in environmental restoration, hands-on learning and youth leadership.

 

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:

  • Students impacted by the Palisades and Eaton fires

  • Margarita Pagliai, TREEAMS Co-Founder and Head of Seven Arrows Elementary School

  • Educators integrating TREEAMS curriculum and project-based learning

  • Landscape design, ecological restoration and bioremediation partners

  • Community leaders involved in Pacific Palisades recovery

 

ABOUT TREEAMS:

TREEAMS (Trees + Dreams) is a student-led movement of healing, hope and action inspired by Dr. Jane Goodall. The initiative empowers young people to plant trees, restore ecosystems, build community and help reimagine Los Angeles as a greener, more resilient city following the 2025 wildfires.

TREEAMS brings together students, educators, schools, community leaders and ecological experts with the goal of planting 5,000 trees over the next 3–5 years across Altadena, Pacific Palisades, Malibu and surrounding areas.

 

TREEAMS pairs hands-on restoration projects with curriculum developed in partnership with UCLA School of Education and Information Studies, EcoRise and participating educators, giving students real-world experience in reforestation, soil remediation, ecosystem restoration and environmental leadership.

For more information, visit www.treeams.org.

 

MEDIA CONTACT:

Shawna Marino
Cell: (978) 273-8478
Email: shawna.marino@ef.com 

 

 

Main News