FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2023

Bexar Branches Alliance, City of College Station receive grants for urban forest sustainability

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M Forest Service has awarded two grants to community programs that promote urban and community forestry.

The agency’s Community Forestry Grants Program funds projects in two categories: Climate Resiliency and Human Health Equity and Accessibility.

Bexar Branches Alliance, a San Antonio-based nonprofit group, was awarded a $50,000 climate resiliency grant to go toward costs associated with the planting of 500 trees on campuses in the Northside Independent School District and delivering community forestry curriculum. 

Cooling College Station, the City of College Station’s five-year plan to mitigate the effects of urban heat islands, was awarded a $43,302 equity and accessibility grant to plant and care for 117 trees in environmentally disadvantaged communities.

Leaders of Bexar Branches Alliance said their project addresses the challenge facing teachers of finding enough shade for outdoor learning opportunities. The trees planted will be incorporated into the school district’s fifth-grade environmental sciences curriculum, with students collecting data on the trees’ health and growth.

Mickey Merritt, Texas A&M Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program Leader, said the grants support the agency’s urban forestry sustainability goals while promoting the role of community forestry in human health and wellness.

The City of College Station developed “Cooling College Station” in 2022 as an effort to mitigate urban heat island effects. The funded project will increase the urban tree cover while providing a greener, healthier environment for residents. 

“These projects will benefit the surrounding communities by providing shade, cooler temperatures and cleaner air,” Merritt said. “Both projects are great examples of how trees can make a difference in our lives.” 

The grant program is funded in part by the U.S. Forest Service through the Cooperative Forestry Program and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

For more information about Texas A&M Forest Service’s Community Forestry Grants Program, visit tfsweb.tamu.edu/communityforestrygrants.

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Texas A&M Forest Service Contacts:
Mickey Merritt, Texas A&M Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program Leader, 713-562-6469, mmerritt@tfs.tamu.edu
Communications Office, 979-458-6606, newsmedia@tfs.tamu.edu