SCVUFA and the Future of Urban Forestry in the South Bay
The Santa Clara Valley Urban Forestry Alliance has become the region's most practical forum for city arborists, consultants, and advocates to align on canopy goals, funding, and workforce.
Kyle D. Peczkowski
Board Certified Master Arborist & Urban Forester
Urban forestry in the South Bay used to be a collection of independent city programs, each doing good work in its own bubble. Santa Clara had its ordinance. San José had its million-tree initiative. Mountain View had its heritage tree program. But no one was looking at the regional canopy as a whole.
The Santa Clara Valley Urban Forestry Alliance, or SCVUFA, changed that. It is not a regulatory body. It is a peer network where city arborists, county staff, consultants, nonprofit leaders, and utility foresters meet quarterly to share what is working.
The value is harder to measure than tree count, but it is real. A city arborist in Palo Alto can learn how Cupertino handled a similar species failure. A consultant can flag a contractor issue before it spreads. The county can coordinate grant applications so cities are not competing against each other for the same pot of money.
SCVUFA has also become a workforce pipeline. Member agencies post internships, share training opportunities, and mentor new arborists who might otherwise leave the profession after a few years of low pay and high stress.
Regional canopy goals will not be met by any single city. They will be met by alliances like SCVUFA that turn individual programs into a coherent urban forest.