Current Projects: Healthy Trees for the Trail
This ongoing program restores and helps diversify the woodlands habitat of the Lady Bird Lake ecosystem while protecting the health of the trees along the Trail for future generations.
Over the last 40 years, the introduction of non-native plant species combined with the urbanization of this area has resulted in an ecosystem with diminishing biodiversity. Without natural controls such as floods and fire, woodlands such as those found along the Trail can lose their beauty and functionality as native habitat. Introduced plants are spreading along the Trail, crowding out native species important to birds and other wildlife for food and shelter. Aggressive grapevines break tops and limbs of trees and shade out large native specimen trees that help make the Trail a special place.
Major tree groves:
2012 Lamar Beach Tree Grove Planting. October 20 TTF and the PARD Urban Forestry Program and TreeFolks planted 150 native shade and understory trees along the north side of the lake, west of Lamar. TTF installed the needed irrigation. The elms, black walnuts, chinquapin oaks, honeylocusts, bur oaks, Mexican white oaks, pecans, sycamores, evergreen sumacs, Texas pistaches, Texas mountain laurels, goldenball leadtrees, Texas redbuds, and Anacacho orchid trees will grow to shade, beautify and diversify the Trail.
2010. Longhorn ShoresTree Grove Planting. TTF planted 179 native Texas trees at the Trail as part of Arbor Day 2010. TTF collaborated with the Urban Forestry Program of the Austin Parks and Recreation (PARD) to plant these trees on the eastside of the Trail at Lady Bird Lake.
The pecans, chinquapin and Lacey oaks, sycamores, redbuds, Texas mountain laurels, Mexican buckeyes and other natives will grow to shade, beautify and diversify the Trail. TTF bought 154 of the trees, brought enthusiastic volunteers, and installed the irrigation that will get the trees through the first two summers and fully established. Austin Energy bought 25 understory trees to create a living demonstration planting of native trees appropriate to plant under power lines. And our hard-working partners at the Urban Forestry Program of the Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) kept the trees watered, delivered the trees, brought the shovels, preaugered the holes and helped lead the groups of volunteers.
2009 1869 Tree Grove. In spring 2009, as part of our HTFT program, we completed a planting effort at a high-visibility section of Trail that we call the 1869 Tree Grove--the Trail area on the north side of the Lake just below the west end of the new Cesar Chavez Esplande. 1869 is the year of one of the great all time floods in Austin, whose high water mark of 468 feet is noted on a marker above the Trail at the Esplande level.
2006 Zilker Bluffs Tree Grove. The City of Austin observes Arbor Day in late October each year to kick off the prime planting season which lasts from October through March.
Sponsorships for Healthy Trees for the Trail
+ Tree Steward ($1,000)
Benefits:
Adoption of newly planted shade tree
A tree adoption certificate, suitable for framing, showing the location of your tree
A letter of thanks from The Trail Foundation
+ Grove Steward ($2,500)
Your name and logo on the Healthy Trees page of our web site
Your name and logo on temporary Healthy Trees on-Trail signage. The project signage has an educational component about our woodlands and the importance of reforestation and tree species diversification. The signs are 2.5 x 3.5 and placed in the location of Healthy Trees work at the Trail.
+ Woodland Steward ($5,000)
Benefits listed above plus:
Listing in enewsletter
TTF framed thank you
+ Healthy Trees Underwriter, Forest Steward sponsor Steward ($10,000)
Benefits listed above plus:
Special site tour for your family or select employees
Top level display of company name and logo on all Healthy Trees on-Trail signage as Underwriter
Top level display of company name and logo on TTF website project page
Focus of an article in TTF newsletter about HTFT and your participation
