Our Urban Forest Grant program was developed to maintain, restore, and replenish our urban forest using development fees accrued via the tree preservation ordinance. Today, we are shining a spotlight on one exemplary project that helps us meet the goal of creating a sustainable, equitable urban forest for all our city’s residents. At Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Metro Park, local non-profit Ecology Action has been working for years to restore a degraded site back to the forest it once was.
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On April 1, 2010, eleven 7-9 year-old Brownie Girl Scouts planted a landscape near the public right of way at 2701 South Lamar in Austin, Texas which was designed to soak up carbon dioxide and urban heat. The girls learned about planting trees and caring for the environment.
The Urban Forest Grant supplied funding to purchase trees, mulch, compost and a small irrigation system for the landscape project. Other funding for the project came from cookie sales and parent donations.
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How Tree Roots Work Part 1 | How Tree Roots Work Part II: Digging Deeper
Soil Ecosystem
Did you know trees communicate with each other through a network like our World Wide Web? Tree roots live underground, but they are not alone. They are part of a vibrant ecosystem. Of course, soil contains large organisms like insects, worms, moles, and spiders, but the smallest lifeforms are very important to tree health. There are more bacteria in a teaspoon of soil than people on the planet. Other tiny soil organisms include fungi, algae, and protozoa. All of t…
Did you know the City of Austin protects trees on public and private property? In 1984, the City of Austin passed one of the first tree protection ordinances in the United States. The City continued its commitment to protecting valuable community trees by passing the Heritage Tree Ordinance in 2010.
A heritage-sized live oak is protected during development.
What is a "…
Urban Patchwork, an Austin non-profit helping communities grow food where we live, has recently planted 200 fruit and nut producing trees in East Austin. The Neighborhood Orchard project is supported by American Forests’ nationwide Community ReLeaf initiative—dedicated to the assessment, restoration and monitoring of urban forests. American Forests recently identified Austin as one of the 10 best cities for Urban Forest…
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 …
Alert! Tree Emergency!
Austin, we need to prepare for a very serious problem that could have big impacts on our urban forest. Even if you don’t know much about trees, you can help!
Ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) could be attacked at any time by a destructive insect called Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis. All species of ash can be hosts for EAB. This beetle was acciden…
We’re nearing another Texas summer in Austin and it’s getting easier to imagine the record-breaking 110-degree weather recorded last July. Fascinated by the role that the landscape plays in urban heat and microclimates, students at Texas State University analyzed land surface temperatures across Austin. While this is something anyone can ‘feel’ when they step out in a black t-shirt, it’s interesting to take a step back and view the cityscape and urban heat on a larger scale. Students processed data provided by USGS and NASA, utilizing ArcGIS online to analyze and present their findings.
A Wealth o…
Summer is an active time for bugs, some of which can be pests. One such pest is the spider mite, which thrive when it’s hot and dry. They puncture the plant leaves and suck the juice out leaving little white or yellow speckles. These tiny bugs (but not technically insects or spiders), can be hard to see.
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How Tree Roots Work Part II: Digging Deeper | How Tree Roots Work Part III: Mycorrihizae
When we see a tree in the landscape, we rarely think about what’s happening below ground. We know those tree roots are there, but we can’t see them beneath the soil surface. Tree roots tend grow in the top 2-3’ of soil and the smallest roots grow in only the top 6” of soil. Those small roots are the ones that take up water, nutrients, and oxygen. How do they manage to grow so close to the soil surface? Well, these small, fine roots grow well beyond the extent…