Community Engagement Intern with City Plants, Los Angeles 

Paris V., Spring 2024 

Hi everyone! My name is Paris and I am a senior majoring in Environmental Studies with a minor in Law & Social Justice. This semester, I’m grateful to have had an opportunity to intern with City Plants LA, a non-profit organization funded by the LA Department of Water and Power. City Plants aims to create a greener, more equitable city for Angelenos by increasing urban tree canopy. City Plants has several programs that provide shade and fruit trees to residents of Los Angeles County, particularly in low-income areas. Throughout the internship, one of my main responsibilities was helping plan City Plants’ annual Arbor Day event, which was held at Sylmar Park this year. Arbor Day is a community event where volunteers gather to plant trees. For this event, I helped find potential catering options, entertainment, and tabling volunteers. Additionally, I help with day-to-day operations, including answering constituent inquiries via email and phone calls. Since this organization works remotely, we have biweekly meetings including one monthly in-person meeting. City Plants is a welcoming and tight-knit community, and it has been a privilege to collaborate with this amazing team working towards environmental justice. I am excited to be continuing my internship through Maymester and continue to professionally develop in my field!