Obituary Thomas Mathew Dwyer

Thomas Mathew Dwyer
February 26, 1965 – May 14, 2020

Tom Dwyer, a tree planter, landscape craftsman, and the cornerstone of a local environmental organization has died. He was 55.

Tom, who suffered a massive heart attack while clearing brush on his mountain top home in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles on May 14, 2020 was a pioneer in the effort to revitalize the Los Angeles River and “Bring Nature Back” to the City of Los Angeles. For nearly 30 years he worked with North East Trees, the non-profit organization that was responsible for planting some of the first trees and building some of the first parks along the Los Angeles River. Along with a team of landscape architects and arborists, Tom helped lead the way in transforming the Los Angeles River from what was once considered a blighted “storm channel” to the now highly valued natural landscape that our city so desperately needs. Where the stretch of river between downtown L.A. and Griffith Park was often used to dump things like old cars and refrigerators, now one mostly finds people walking, cycling, or skating in the shade of native trees that Tom planted or simply relaxing in one of the many “pocket” parks that Tom helped build. These prototype river projects paved the way for the development of much larger parks such as the Los Angeles State Historic Park, Rio de Los Angeles State Park, and many others.

Soon after completing these projects, Tom began working along the Arroyo Seco, the tributary stream that starts in the San Gabriel Mountains and makes its way to the Los Angeles River in Lincoln Heights. There he planted thousands of new native trees and enhanced the natural open spaces that line the Arroyo Parkway. While driving on the 110 (Pasadena) freeway you can witness many of the beautiful trees that were planted by Tom and his crews.

In addition to doing the early work along our urban waterways, Tom was also ahead of his time in many other environmental efforts. He helped construct the first “Green Street” in Los Angeles which is a street in Frogtown that intercepts stormwater through a strategically designed drain system while using native oak trees to shade the sidewalks and clean the air. He helped build one of the most ambitious school greening projects in the city as part of the LADWP’s “Cool Schools” program. This project included the removal of nearly 50,000 square feet of asphalt, the planting of 200 trees and the installation of a cistern that captured stormwater from the school playground which is used to irrigate the turf. Tom mastered the construction of bioswales, raingardens, and other sustainable landscape elements. Most recently, Tom oversaw the native plant restoration of Ascot Hills Park, a 100-acre city park in El Sereno. Overall, in the past 30 years, Tom is responsible for planting thousands of trees and building dozens of parks, school greening projects, and much more.

Among Tom’s most important contributions was the hiring and training of local youth who he mentored and prepared for careers in the “Green Industry”. One of his former students who grew up on the east side and is now in charge of the irrigation department for Universal Studios says, “Tom changed my life”. This young man got his start working on a youth crew with Tom who taught him about irrigation systems and landscape construction. From there he went on to work with a local municipality and ultimately at Universal. He is one of many students who learned valuable professional skills from Tom. Others went on to college or to work with the City of Los Angeles, the California State Parks, the National Park Service or into the private sector. Part of Tom’s appeal was making his work into an adventure so that every day was fun, exciting, and a challenge. It was never a chore. His crew called themselves the “River Rats” and they were part of a quixotic effort to plant trees, lay irrigation, and create beautiful stone sitting walls in the parks that still adorn the banks of the river. At the end of the day they would relax under the shade of a tarp, flip a wheel barrel over to use as a seat and sit for a while listening to the water and the ducks. ‘

Tom grew up in a house that his father built in the foothills between Glendale and La Canada across from the Chevy Chase Country Club. There he played for hours in the chaparral filled canyons and built secret hideouts with his siblings and friends near the local stream. His parents would often take the family on trips to Baja or around the country in their camper and these experiences drew him close to nature. While attending St. Bede’s Catholic school in La Canada he met a group of friends with whom he stayed close for years. Some later went with him to Loyola High School where he also built lasting relations with his new classmates. Tom drove a classic VW bus and was known to pile his friends in after school and head to the beach. The brotherhood that he found at Loyola High School was essential and stayed with Tom throughout his life. After graduating from Loyola in 1983, Tom attended the University of California at Santa Barbara where he received a degree in Environmental Studies. Upon returning to Los Angeles he helped found North East Trees along with his sister Lynne Dwyer and Scott Wilson, both of whom were landscape architects and early visionary advocates of the Los Angeles River.

Above all, Tom spent his life with Patty Melody, his partner of 24 years. They were known for backpacking and skiing in the Mammoth Mountain area on the weekends or scuba diving in Southern California and Mexico. To some their house may have resembled an REI warehouse with skis, kayaks, bikes, and scuba gear lying about as if they had just returned from a trip, which they probably had…

Tom has joined his parents John and Gail Dwyer and his beautiful dog Ethel who unfortunately have all passed in the last two years. Tom is survived by his siblings Wendy, Lynne, Jeff and Jim and his three nieces and nephew Marianne, Summer and Sean and his girlfriend Patty.

Patty asks that those who wish to honor the legacy of Tom Dwyer please give contributions to North East Trees by clicking here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ZJQJPENP6UDH6&source=url or visiting www.northeasttrees.org. For more information on how to donate to North East Trees, please contact joe@northeasttrees.org. Please join us in continuing to beautify Los Angeles with more trees, cleaner water, cleaner air, more open spaces and a better place for humans and animals alike.