EL
PASO, Texas — In Texas, the official state Arbor Day celebration is held in a
different host city each year on the first Friday in November. Today, on
National Arbor Day, Texas A&M Forest Service announced that this year’s
state celebration will be hosted in El Paso, Texas.
Across
the Lone Star State, Texans are invited to join the celebration Nov. 2, 2018 at
the City’s Galaztan Park.
The City of El Paso has a
mission to have safe and beautiful neighborhoods, a vibrant regional economy
and exceptional recreational, cultural, and educational opportunities.
“Increasing the city’s tree
canopy will certainly help us accomplish this and Arbor Day is a great way to
start,” said Steve
Lunsford, City of El Paso Parks and
Recreation Land Management
Superintendent.
El Paso is located in far west
Texas on the Rio Grande River across the border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The
climate is a high desert at 3,800 feet elevation. Nicknamed “Sun City”, the
average rainfall is just 8.71 inches according to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. In this kind of environment, tree canopy is vital. Recognizing
the benefits of a healthy urban forest, the City of El Paso has set out to
increase the percentage of the ground that is covered by the City’s canopy.
The Texas Arbor Day celebration
theme has been aptly named Growing our Desert Canopy.
The
celebration will take place at a newly constructed, state-of-the-art
natatorium. Included in the construction is a plan for the facility’s trees. El
Paso Parks and Recreation personnel planted more than 100 new trees to enhance
the site and increase the existing tree canopy, with plans to plant more in the
future.
Arbor
Day festivities will feature a ceremony, educational activities and tree
plantings. Attendees also will have the opportunity to adopt a tree seedling. All
events are free and open to the public.
For
those unable to attend the state celebration, Texas A&M Forest Service invites you to celebrate Arbor Day in your
own ways, in your own communities.
“The idea is for everyone in Texas to take one day – the
same day – to truly appreciate trees and plant one,” said Paul Johnson Texas
A&M Forest Service urban and community forestry program coordinator.
“Planting a tree leaves a legacy for future generations while beautifying the spaces
where we live, work and play today.”
Texas A&M Forest Service is making it easy for
anyone, anywhere to participate in Arbor Day. We’ve provided tips online to
help you create a memorable Arbor Day in your own community, and fun,
educational activities for schools, groups and families to get outdoors and
learn more about trees.
Visit http://texasforestservice.tamu.edu/arborday/ for ideas on how to host an Arbor Day ceremony. Here you can also find instructions
on how to properly plant a tree and activities about the benefits of trees,
tree parts and how to identify a tree by its leaves or structure – plus so much
more.
About Texas Arbor Day:
Under the leadership of the Texas Forestry Association, Texas first observed
Arbor Day in 1889, celebrating the benefits that trees provide over a lifetime.
Today, the Texas State Arbor Day is sponsored by Texas A&M Forest Service,
Texas Forestry Association and the Texas Chapter of the International Society
of Arboriculture.
###
Contacts:
Steve Lunsford, City of El Paso
Parks and Recreation Land Management Superintendent,
915-212-8018, LunsfordAS@elpasotexas.gov
Paul Johnson, Texas A&M Forest Service Urban and
Community Forestry Program Coordinator, 512-872-2816,pjohnson@tfs.tamu.edu
Linda Moon, Texas A&M
Forest Service Communications Manager, 979-450-1160
lmoon@tfs.tamu.edu
Texas A&M Forest Service
Communications Office, 979-450-6606, newsmedia@tfs.tamu.edu