Trees for Houston works with private and public landowners to distribute trees across the city and help restore Houston’s shrinking tree canopy.
Nonprofit Trees for Houston planted its one millionth tree this month after four decades in operation. According to a piece by John Brannen in Urban Edge, the organization is ramping up their efforts. “Trees For Houston has dramatically scaled up its operations over the past several years, with the annual rate of trees planted rising from about 20,000 to more than 90,000 in the 2024-25 season.”
The organization, which partners with public and private landowners to distribute, plant, and maintain trees, hopes to plant its next million trees in the next 14 or 15 years. For Executive Director Barry Ward, the work is urgent — between 2011 and 2021, the vast majority of Harris County neighborhoods lost tree canopy to development or storms, according to a Kinder Institute analysis.
“Major greenspace projects like Discovery Green, the Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Prairie at Memorial Park, and the addition of trees along highway embankments exemplify the potential for retaining canopy on a large scale, Ward said.” Trees for Houston also gave away roughly 65,000 trees to homeowners and organizations in the 2023-2024 season.
FULL STORY: With 1 million trees planted, Houston nonprofit charts expansion to combat canopy loss
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