Trees have always been an important part of the character of Austin. We have special trees where we mark important historical events. We love to enjoy the pecans at Barton Springs on a sunny day. We will park half a mile from the store if we can leave our car under a shade tree while we shop. We cannot take our trees for granted. If we want to continue enjoying a healthy urban forest in coming decades, we need to start planning now. Climate forecasts predict significant changes in our average temperatures, rainfall, and major weather events. Our existing trees may struggle to adapt and survive in the new conditions.
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Nature in the City is handing the keys over to local high school students and their teacher today. They worked as teams to compare heat potential in different neighborhoods around Austin. We hope you enjoy seeing their work as much as we have.
The assignment
In this blog post, you will find the work of High School Environmental Systems students from Cedars International Next Generation High School to answer the question, "How can we as ZIP Code…
Did you know Austin residents can get funding for projects that care for trees in their neighborhoods? They can, through the City’s Urban Forest Grant!
Applications are due January 1st and July 1st!
Non-profits, neighborhood groups, schools, and other organizations are eligible to apply for a grant to fund tree projects on public property like:
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This small tree might survive, but the wiser choice may be to replace it with a new, healthy specimen.
Tree damage from Winter Storm Uri, a major freeze that hit Texas in February 2021, is still visible all around Austin. Trees that had begun growing new spring leaves were hit the hardest. Species showing significant damage included huisache, red oak, crape myrtle, and lacebark elm. The biggest concern we have now is our ash trees. A lot of them suffered from the…
Alert! Tree emergency!
You may have seen our recent posts where we warned you about an invasive insect, Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). This pest could kill all our ash trees within a few years, so we need to prepare now! In the earlier posts, we encouraged you to help us find Ash trees and map them using …
Alert! Tree emergency!
You may have seen our recent post where we warned you about an invasive insect, Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). This pest could kill all our ash trees within a few years, so we need to prepare now! In the earlier post, we encouraged you to help us find Ash trees and map them using …
Trees provide important benefits to our community and are difficult to replace. It is important to keep them healthy. Perhaps the biggest challenge facing Austin trees is lack of water. When trees don’t receive the water that they need for a long period of time, they become stressed. Stressed trees are more prone to pests or diseases, and this leads to their decline and death.
When to water
Most trees need to be watered if we have not received at least one inch of rain for one week. This varies with tree age, tree species, and the type of soil. In west Austin, the soil layer is thin and loses moisture quickly. In many parts of east Austin, the soil has…
Image 1 – 2017, Checking the Root Ball of a 5 gallon Tree
An innovative approach to tree distribution
Did you know living near trees improves quality of life? The Austin Community Trees program (ACT) was a pioneer in helping people bring the benefits of trees to their neighborhoods. The pr…
Written by Pearl Morosky, 2020 Youth Forest Council Member
All the trees in Austin need care and attention to grow and flourish, but with 33 million trees in the city, it takes a community to give every tree the care it needs. To help solve this problem, different community groups, many of whom rely heavily on volunteers, have stepped up to care for Austin’s trees. One of the largest groups is the Austin Parks Foundation (APF). This local Austin nonprofit provides resources, programming, and funding for our parks, with support from the City.
The City of Austin's Ur…
Written by Antonia; October 23, 2020
One of the most exciting aspects of leaving for college, for me, was the fact that I would have so many new areas to explore. So, of course, I used the free time I had to look around campus and find all of the hidden, interesting places, both indoors and outdoors. Luckily, I made a friend who was also rather adventurous and we’d plan days to go out and see if we could find something new. From a strange, deserted basement with a room full of puppets to an old ce…