A number of Texas cities will be receiving grants aimed at constructing urban forests, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. The funds are expected to be released in June, and the grants are a combination of federal and state grants.
According to Community Impact, $5.46 million was allotted for the Dallas-based Texas Trees Foundation and smaller amounts to surrounding areas such as Lewisville and Denton.
“Trees always provide a lot of services,” AP Environmental Science teacher Jamie Berendt said. “We call them ecological services, not only because they give a lot of shade, which is always welcome in Texas, but they also help to retain water as well, which is also needed in a dry state. They also help with cleaning air water quality in urban environments.”
From what he has learned in his AP Environmental Science class, junior Nolan Sow knows trees can be good for the urban environment.
“Planting trees, we learned and is also kind of common knowledge, can help clean up air, especially in urban area,” Sow said. “I always see on the news how planting trees and plants in generals have been becoming more popular especially with climate change and all of that.”
For junior Sophia Hung, any initiative designed to improve the environment is a positive move.
“I do a lot of things to reduce waste,” Hung said. “I recently recycled old plastic bags by using them to crochet bags. I think it’s great that more trees are going to be in Texas. It will probably provide more shade, which is good cause it gets so hot.”
Not only do trees serve ecological purposes, they also hold significant aesthetic values.
“There’s also the aesthetics,” Berendt said. “There’s a sort of cultural service you get from trees, because it’s like, everyone loves birds and butterflies, the things that come around trees. The vegetation and the greenery is also just pretty. People would much rather go to an area with a lot of tree growth, so I think it’s environmentally, culturally, and economically smart.”
