Cochran Heights neighbors met to celebrate and receive a tree planting lesson from Texas Trees Foundation. Photo submitted by Erika Huddleston.
On April 18, the Cochran Heights neighborhood was given 30 free trees to plant from a Texas Trees Foundation grant, funded by bellagreen.
The neighbors met to celebrate and receive a tree planting lesson from Texas Trees.
“I am in awe of the impact from planting the 30 young, 15-gallon leafy trees granted to Cochran Heights by the Texas Trees Foundation through their ‘Front Yard Planting Initiative’ program,” Cochran Heights resident Erika Huddleston said.
Huddleston wrote the grant for Texas Trees Foundation’s newer program. Huddleston said she “hoped that even though our neighborhood is located in historic East Dallas, we could add to our tree canopy, which was planted almost 100 years ago and is today aging out.”
The trees were given due to resident concerns about tree age and urban heat island effect in Cochran Heights. Native and climate-resilient species included live oak, chinkapin oak, desert-willow, cedar elm and a redbud type.
Texas Trees Foundation is a Dallas-based nonprofit aimed at making communities healthier through the planting of trees. Other projects include “Cool Schools,” a program to implement green strategies on Dallas ISD campuses and educate students about the impact of urban forestry.
“Planting trees provides both immediate and long-term health benefits to residents by reducing the temperature up to 15 degrees, helping people better enjoy the outdoors in many of Texas’ warmer months,” said Eric Wettengel, forester lead for the Texas Trees Foundation, in a press release.
