McAllen Branches Out With New Trees

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McAllen Branches Out With New Trees

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Planting seedlings has become a community event and cause in McAllen. (Courtesy)
Planting seedlings has become a community event and cause in McAllen. (Courtesy)

The grouping of trees bunched on the frontage road of Bicentennial Boulevard and Expressway 83 are just above sapling size and draw little attention from motorists buzzing by on a busy McAllen intersection.

Recently planted trees near the Morris rainwater detention area are among the over 200 native trees planted in McAllen this year.
Recently planted trees near the Morris rainwater detention area are among the over 200 native trees planted in McAllen this year.

But there they are, breaking up the concrete and urban life of a growing city. They add greenery with the benefits of a sound barrier and deep roots that will absorb stormwater when heavy rains come. McAllen’s Parks and Recreation Department has planted over 200 young trees in recent months and sprinkled them throughout the city.

Recently planted trees near the Morris rainwater detention area are among the over 200 native trees planted in McAllen this year.

It comes under the heading of urban forest management. The city has done it so well that in June, it became a 2022 Tree City USA Growth Award recipient. The award comes from the Arbor Day Foundation, a national nonprofit organization that promotes the planting of trees in neighborhoods and communities. 

“The trees being planted and cared for by McAllen are ensuring that generations to come will enjoy a better quality of life,” said Dan Lambe, the chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “This program helps cultivate a sense of stewardship and pride for the trees the community plants and cares for.”

Planning the work and tree plantings in McAllen is part of the work that Sarai Garcia, the deputy director of the city’s parks and rec department, oversees in looking over the city’s landscape. Garcia works with staff to strategically find the right spots by roadways, schools and in pockets by the city’s existing parks. They then plant 30 to 40 native trees that stand about seven feet tall in a general grouping.

“Where do I have space?” she asked of the search to plant the young trees. “We look at it from a holistic approach.”

City of McAllen employees plant native trees to create new green spaces in the city. (Courtesy)
City of McAllen employees plant native trees to create new green spaces in the city. (Courtesy)

Boosts Quality Of Life

The Parks and Recreation Department in McAllen has eight divisions that includes traditional responsibilities of maintaining parks and supervising aquatic centers.

There is also a horticultural supervisor in recognition of a branch of agriculture that extends to the growth of vegetation and green space in a city. Four of the Rio Grande Valley’s larger cities – Brownsville, Edinburg, Harlingen and McAllen – have made major investments in their parks systems in recent years. In late June, Edinburg unveiled a new municipal pool house and inclusive water pad. Just days later, McAllen broke ground on Morris Park between two north-side schools, which will include lighted walking trails, picnic tables and restrooms. 

Family get-togethers around picnic tables at parks will always carry importance. City leaders are increasingly seeing that more trees and green space is another element of boosting quality of life in cities. 

“Native trees and a natural environment are as important to the prosperity and development of our community as streets, sidewalks, infrastructure, and water and utility service,” McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos said. 

Speaking of his city’s general quality of life, Villalobos said “trees help do that for every living creature in our community.”

McAllen has made the planting of hundreds of new trees a major yearly goal in the city. (Courtesy)
McAllen has made the planting of hundreds of new trees a major yearly goal in the city. (Courtesy)

Holistic Approach

McAllen has a goal to plant more than 150 trees yearly in the city, reflecting the mayor’s sentiments.

McAllen has already beat that goal for 2023. There are already groupings of over 30 native trees at Municipal Park, Crockett Elementary, Palmview Park and near the rainwater detention area behind Morris Middle School. Another city-run entity – the Quinta Mazatlan World Birding Center – has planted hundreds of seedlings in McAllen. Retamas, Mexican wild olive trees, mountain laurels and cedar elms are among the variety of trees that have been planted in the city.

The holistic approach Garcia speaks of with tree plantings throughout McAllen helps migrating birds with food and shelter, supports flooding prevention systems and eases land erosion. They can also serve as sound barriers between neighborhoods and commercial districts. Add in that McAllen has gone from 12 miles of hike-and-bike trails in the early 2000s to over 30 miles today, and it’s apparent that a community which has long described itself as a city of business has branched out to other aspects of urban life.

Freshly planted trees on Bicentennial Boulevard near Expressway 83 serve as a sound barrier between a major roadway and adjacent neighborhoods. (Courtesy)
Freshly planted trees on Bicentennial Boulevard near Expressway 83 serve as a sound barrier between a major roadway and adjacent neighborhoods. (Courtesy)

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