Published March 13, 2021 at 6:17pm.
Story by Mary Martin. Photos by Jan Osborn.
Dallas is no stranger to a gusty day, but after losing hundreds of canopy trees to a straight-line wind storm in June of 2019, followed by a series of tornados the following October, Texas Trees Foundation joined with the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department to restore more than 600 trees in a project called Branching Out.
(Left to Right) Chris McMaster, City Forester, Park and Recreation Department; Norm Daley, Director of Operations, Texas Trees Foundation; Zach Wirtz, Urban Forestry Manager, Texas Trees Foundation
Karen Woodard, City Forester, Dallas Water Utilities
Collaborating with corporate partners and local volunteers, Texas Trees Foundation and the city of Dallas worked to plant native species of trees across Dallas parks; starting in February and finishing the project this weekend at Netherland Park in North Dallas. At the start of the spring break week, volunteers planted 15 types of saplings like American Elm, Roughleaf Dogwood, Mexican White Oak, and Southern Magnolia. A group of young women from Temple Swaminarayan Gurukul in Plano pitched in, centering trees and shoveling soil, their eyes and effort focused on what young trees mean for the future community.
“The trees planted through the Branching Out program not only replace storm damaged trees, but also combat Dallas’ urban heat island, contribute to its overall tree canopy, and provide safe outdoor spaces for generations to come,” says Zach Wirtz, Texas Trees Foundation Urban Forestry Manager.
Janette Monear, Texas Trees Foundation CEO/President says, “Texas Trees Foundation is focused on making spaces cooler, greener and cleaner, and data has long affirmed that planting trees is vital to achieve this critical goal. The new trees at Netherland Park will provide an outdoor sanctuary for North Texas residents to experience the joy nature can provide.”
With a practical vision for how citizens can help in this mission, Texas Trees Foundation launched a virtual tree plotter, where citizen scientists can add their own freshly planted trees to the map. And if you are interested in making more tree-planting possible, make sure to sign up for the volunteer newsletter or make an online donation.
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