SAN MARCOS, Texas — The City of San Marcos Community Forestry Program, the Texas A&M Forest Service, the USDA Forest Service and the Arbor Day Foundation's Community Canopy program are teaming up to provide 500 free trees to San Marcos residents.
Starting on Sept. 14, residents can go online and reserve up to two free trees. The online tool will provide care and location advice for planting.
The types of trees available include:
- Large maturing shade trees: Live oak, Shumard oak, fall (cedar) elm, Mexican sycamore
- Medium shade trees: Desert Willow, Mexican white oak, Chinkapin oak
The World Health Organization states that half of the world's population will be affected by 2025 if communities don't take action to plant and maintain their local forests.
Trees are vital because they reduce the amount of sediment, pollutants and organic matter that drain into streams, improving local water quality. And natural tree cover is lost as cities continue to expand, resulting in an increase in flooding and deteriorating drinking water supply.
“Ideally, San Marcos would have around 30-40% tree canopy coverage but we are currently lingering around 16%,” said Kelly Eby, urban forester. “We are thrilled about this opportunity to plant 500 free trees at residences and in urbanized environments so our community can reap the environmental and social benefits that trees provide.”
The Community Canopy Program helps clean the air and water, reduce stormwater runoff, sequester carbon and lower energy usage through strategic tree planting. It encourages homeowners to plan in their yards to help broaden San Marcos' tree canopy, as well as provide cleaner water to residents.
The program has distributed 364,261 trees so far.
On average, one tree will filter 18,120 gallons of stormwater runoff – or 144,960 16-ounce water bottles – over the first 20 years of its life.
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