KICKS OFF 1 MILLION TREES ACROSS TEXAS PROJECT
(AUSTIN, TEXAS) December 11, 2020 — Scenic Texas, the state’s only nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of the state’s visual environment, is kicking off an ambitious project this week to plant 1 Million Trees Across Texas. The 35-year-old over organization will plant trees across Texas and along roadways over the next 35 years.
The nonprofit will spend this Friday and Saturday planting more than 100 trees along the Interstate 35 corridor in San Marcos. Scenic Texas is partnering with San Marcos River Foundation and Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for its inaugural tree planting.
“As an organization with a mission to create a more scenic state, we can’t think of an undertaking more central to our goals,” said Sarah Tober, Scenic Texas executive director. “We’re excited about rolling up our sleeves and digging in.”
Who: Scenic Texas, San Marcos River Foundation, environmentalists, nature enthusiasts, volunteers
What: Tree Planting
Where: Along Highway 35 in San Marcos (see map exact for location)
When: Friday, December 11th at 7:30AM
The seeds for the 1 Million Tree Project were planted at the beginning of 2020, when Dripping Springs resident and Scenic Texas member Bill Brock reached out to the organization. Brock had been retired for a little over a week when he came to the organization with his lofty plan. A self-proclaimed environmentalist, he’d spent time in the Peace Corps planting trees in Guatemala. No matter how many organizations he volunteered with, Brock says he “always comes back to trees.”
It was on one of his many road trips along the I-35 corridor that he and his wife began to notice a lack of greenery, especially along intersections. One of their favorite stretches of road – the 27-mile stretch of the Chisholm Trail Parkway toll road in the Fort Worth area – got them wondering why the rest of the state couldn’t look more like that.
“It may be a toll road, but it’s a beautiful drive,” Brock said.
Scenic Texas believes the state should be proactively investing in planting trees, especially along highways and in other highly trafficked parts of the state. The nonprofit is actively seeking partners and volunteers to begin future planting events at locations across the state.
If you’d like to sponsor a tree-planting initiative in your community, please contact Scenic Texas at info@scenictexas.org.
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