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Kyle showed me the power of trees

Kyle Brown is the Lorax of Pomona, an environmentalist who “speaks for the trees.” He led a visionary initiative to plant nearly 1,000 trees in Pomona, and he’s just getting started. Kyle pursued grant funding for this extensive tree planting effort, rallied hundreds of local volunteers, and coordinated with the City of Pomona and Pomona Unified School District, in order to enlarge Pomona’s urban forest. Week after week, he planted, staked and watered trees alongside his fellow Pomonans. Kyle leads behind the scenes, in a consistent, self-effacing, and stable manner—just like a tree. He is kind, patient, good humored, personable and brilliant. Kyle has expanded my vision, in terms of thinking about our future generationally—how beautiful trees and parkland which we establish now, will impact Pomona’s quality of life for our children’s children.

Dr. Brown is a professor at California State Polytechnic University Pomona, with a specialty in landscape architecture. At Cal Poly Pomona, he served for several years as the Director of the Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies. He is a founding Board Member of Clean & Green Pomona, a grassroots environmental justice organization. He is the Co-Founder and Chair of Pomona Placemaking, an asset-based approach to creating public spaces that promote community joy and well-being. As a City of Pomona Planning Commissioner, he has brought values for environmental justice and health to crucial land use decisions in our city. Kyle Brown has inspired a value for environmental justice, beauty, and sustainability in Pomona. His legacy–and his trees–will last for generations.