Howdy, folks. I'm
John Hart Asher.
The past few years have been
really hard on our trees.
Aside from February's
freeze, lack of consistent
ground- soaking rain
has felled a lot of our
shade- producing trees
that also provide
vital, vital wildlife habitat.
In addition, many
have been impacted
by growing construction in urban
and our urban areas.
So today, TreeFolks
executive director Andrew Smile
and education coordinator Collin
McMichael keep Austin
rooted to combat
the urban heat island effect
and tree canopy inequality.
Great to see you both. Hi.
Thanks for having us here.
Really appreciate
the opportunity to
share a little info
about keeping Austin rooted.
Wonderful. Well, Andrew,
let's start with you first.
Who or what is TreeFolks? Three
million trees over 30 years.
Wow. Yeah, that's TreeFolks.
Big accomplishment.
And of course, we started
as a very small community
based organization,
a group of friends.
We're talking about
how can we help save the world?
How can we locally
address climate change?
And as a result of
that conversation,
they decided to plant trees
and they planted
trees in their yards.
They planted trees in their
neighbor's yard at schools
and other public spaces.
And once they built up
a bit of momentum,
well, the city of Austin
and Austin AISD and other
entities really took notice
and started supporting TreeFolks
and that mission
to plant more trees.
But it's also about
building community.
So for the first
20 years of our existence,
we really focused on mobilizing
the community to plant
and care for trees.
And of course, education
was a big part of that, too.
All right. Well, Collin,
we hear a lot about the heat
island effect, especially,
you know, it is a plague to
urban areas and has a big impac
to human health and well-being,
especially on, you know,
minority populations.
How does the urban canopy
make a difference
and what is really that
significance of tree inequality
Well, here in Austin, urban
canopy is not really distribute
equally across the entire city.
So we see a lot more trees in
West Austin where we have a mor
affluent population.
And in East Austin,
where we have a more
historically underserved
population, we don't really have
any canopy at all.
And the thing there is that
the trees really help with urba
heat island effect.
So urban heat island effects
come around because there's low
albedo, there's high thermal
bulk in the building materials.
So cities heat up.
If you shade those things,
though, with tree canopy,
then they don't heat up
as much during the day.
So we found well,
not us, but people have found
there was a study
recently done by I think it was
Concordia University,
If you hit the 40
percent canopy cover
threshold, then temperatures
tend to drop 10 degrees.
And that's on a block by block
scale. So it's very localized.
OK, so we're really trying
to bump it up to that 40 percent
threshold in East Austin
so that we can actually get
all the ecosystem
benefits that those people need.
We're talking cooler
temperatures, less noise, just
more green space, better health
outcomes, stuff like that.
Let's just start
with the basics.
So when is the best time to
plant a tree in central Texas?
So we say it's October
1st to March 31.
That's what we call tree
planting season.
So Texas Arbor Day
is going to be November 5th.
And that's a great day
to put a tree in the ground.
So really, it's any time
your tree starts to go dormant,
that's when it needs to go
in the ground. That's awesome.
That gives it plenty of time
to kind of establish roots
throughout the winter
and it'll flush with leaves in
the spring and be super happy.
Some trees like citrus
and some stuff that's
marginally in zone,
that's going to be
better if you wait
until March or kind of late
into the planting season
just because it'll have to deal
with less cold weather. OK.
And I want to ask
a specific question.
And this might sound
loaded, but I promise
it's a real question
because, you know,
what's your favorite tree
or what or maybe not
what your favorite tree,
but what are really
some of those good performers
for some of the shade,
because there's a lot of tree
and not all trees are the same.
So where are the ones that
you really feel are key players
for the top three in Austin?
The most common trees in
Austin are going to be the ashe
juniper, which everyone hates.
I love them now.
Cedar elm, which
are completely indestructible.
And the live oak.
The live thing, we don't really
super encourage people
to plant a lot more live oaks
just because oak wilt
is kind of a problem and there'
already a lot of labor,
there's plenty of other oaks
that you can plant.
I'd really suggest
Red Oaks, because
we have a lot of those, too.
But Chinquapin Farouk's,
even the Mexican White Oaks
do really well up here.
The takeaway is that we want
diversity, Riewoldt species
diversity, because we have one
one species or planning.
If we have another snow
pocalypse or some pathogen comes
through and wipes out all those,
or if we have that diversity,
then it might only affect
a small percentage
of that population.
Yeah. And actually,
we have something like
diversity benchmarks
that we try to hit
when we're doing
planting projects.
It's called 30 2010 rule.
Actually, it's 30 percent
from one family,
20 percent from one genus
and 10 percent from one species
You can't go over those numbers.
So if you're hitting that,
that's the right diversity
that we're looking for.
It's really hard to do
in Texas, though,
because our forests are
we have way more oaks
than most people have.
We just have mostly
oaks in our forests.
So we really have
heightened diversity
in our planting projects
more than we would
ideally like to do.
But we're working on.
There's also the
understory tree.
So those are canopy.
But you can team
those up with me.
You know, maybe some of those
we tend to think big,
but we need to think
in layers. Right.
So maybe the red buds
or Mexican plum or
some other guys that we can
stack in there and give you
maybe even some more density.
Yeah, we talk about
shade all the time,
but really those canopy layers
that come under the top canopy
is they're so important.
The more layers you have,
the more productive
your forest tends to be
and the more benefits
you get from that forest.
So things are blooming
at different times,
are bringing in different kinds
of wildlife trees cool by
kind of transpiring
water out of the leaves,
so it actually cools
the air around it.
And the more layers, the leaves
you have before the ground,
that's more cooling
that comes down.
If somebody lives in
a smaller space,
has a smaller yard or something.
What would you suggest for
some trees for those folks?
We have tons of small
trees, actually,
because Texas, it's so dry here
There's a lot of
little tiny trees
we actually get made fun of
at forestry conferences for that
all the time. There's bushes.
So I love some of these
really tried and true trees.
So like red buds,
I really like the Texas
and Mexican red buds .
The eastern redbud doesn't
really do that well here.
And then we also have some stuff
like the Texas mountain laurel,
fantastic for small areas.
They grow really, really slowly.
So it makes them better.
But there are some oddballs,
too, which I really like.
So if you want to increase the
diversity, I'd suggest planting
an oddball Anacacho orchid
trees are really, really cool.
They bloom beautiful like
an orchid. It's really pretty.
There's rusty blackhaw
which is a really interesting
treat, has super shiny leaves
and like tortoiseshell bark
and it has little black berries
that taste like black currants.
So it's a food plant. I'm
going to throw out my own that
I'm a little biased towards.
Also the Blanco crabapple.
I think it's a beautiful tree
and it's something
that's endangered
because of overgrazing.
So if you can get one, that's a
that's a super duper.
They are hard to find, though.
So if you can finally tell
everyone, you know, well,
plant nerd's plant nerds
start searching.
Well, let's talk about
the absolute sort of basic
planning tips and tricks.
If you if if somebody
I don't know anything
about tree, but I've listened
to you and bite on it,
I'm going to plant a tree.
All right. What do we do?
All right. So there's definitely
a bunch of stuff
that you should do
to maximize your success
and then some stuff
that you just have to do. Right
The first thing to do to kind of
maximize your success.
Water the tree before
you even start the project.
So it's in the pot. It's
sitting right there.
You haven't dug a hole yet.
Just water it. It's
going to be really it's
going to loosen the root of
the tree is going to be happier
And the roots are going
to be more supple,
it's going to be much
happier that way.
So then it's time
to dig your hole and you have
to dig the hole twice
as wide as the pot is.
That's really important,
because back filling
the hole is an important thing.
You have to loosen that dirt
so the roots can
kind of spread out.
But a lot of people dig the hole
as deep as the pot, and that's
usually a huge problem.
So one of the biggest problems
in urban tree planting
is that they are too deep.
So trees in their pots are often
two to five inches
too deep already.
And that's the kind of prevent
weeds from growing in the pot.
So when you get that
tree out of the pot,
get all the dirt off
so you can find the first root.
And that's how much dirt
should be on top of that tree.
And then you need to kind of
tease the roots out really well
And they can take
a lot of beating.
So kind of comb the roots out,
make sure you can
spread them out.
In the hole and then make sure
that tree is on the right level
so I like to put a shovel
across the hole.
So you have like a bar
and so you want that root
flare to be an inch
or two inches above the shovel.
So it should be the root
flare should be above the soil.
And so backfill and
then mulch on top of that.
So then the mulch should
level it so that you then have
root flare level with the soil.
But you don't want
mulch all the way up
flush against the base
of the trunk right here.
So you want your mulch
to be like two to four inches
away from the mulch,
should never touch your tree.
It should only touch dirt.
No mulch kanoes people.
No mulch kanoes.
A lot of people,
when they plant trees,
they say, you know what,
I'm going to buy
that big old honking tree
that's been in a
pot for 15 years
because it's an instant tree.
Is that really a
great thing to do?
Or if you plant a younger tree,
that is probably going
to catch up with that tree,
that big tree and surpass it
and that same time?
It's really counterintuitive.
You're completely correct.
The sapling is going to overtake
the five gallon tree every time.
It's because when
trees grow, they're not used
to really changing spots.
So their roots are
adapted to that soil.
As soon as you change
spots for the tree,
it has to grow new roots
that are adapted to new soil.
So all those old
roots, they're just
they don't really work well.
So the little baby tree,
it doesn't really have
to replace a lot of roots.
It only has like five. It's
the one that's replaced 50.
That's not going
to do that. Well,
I didn't believe this at all.
When I started at Tree Folks,
I was like, that
is that's not true.
There's no way that's
going to happen.
I got a few saplings.
I got a few five gallon trees.
I planted them. It's
three years later now.
The saplings are eight
to nine feet tall.
The five gallon trees
have barely grown.
Oh, wow. They've grown.
That's definitely true. It's
not nine feet tall.
Not only are you providing
all this information for free.
Where can people go to
get a free tree from tree folks
And who qualifies
for the free trees?
It's really easy.
So any Austin resident
or Austin energy customer
qualifies for a free five gallon
tree from TreeFolks. Yeah.
So just go to our website.
You can go to www.treefolks.org
slash nw. And that takes you to
our Neighborwoods program page.
And that's where you're going
to sign up to get a free tree.
And there's a tree menu
and that'll help
you make your decisions.
It's a really great site.
There's also options
for reforestation.
And you can also find that
through our website.
You know, people are only going
to protect what they know
and love what they know.
So education always fundamental
and conservation, preservation
and restoration.
I've interacted with ya'lls
organization a number of times.
You have not only
had a presence in Austin,
but large scale restoration.
You worked post the 2011
drought, wildfires and the 2015
Blanco River flood.
Following the the 2011 wildfires
in Bastrop, TreeFolks was
with TAPS to help lead
the reforestation effort there,
in part because we had a good
background, a good knowledge of
the technical tree
planting side of things, but
also because we had the ability
to to mobilize community
and to connect with residents
in that healing process.
Our successes there in Bastrop,
which are still ongoing,
by the way, we're still
distributing trees in Bastrop,
but that also brought us
into the the restoration,
the reforestation
along the Blanco River
after that 2015 flood, again,
because of the tree planting
expertise, getting folks
involved in the tree,
planting the healing process,
and also the the landowner
education component
that was really key,
really creating those
long term stewards.
But big reforestation
work is what has launched
our current large scale
reforestation, where
we're working in a six county
region to how to plant trees
along riparian areas.
It's in flood plains,
really trying to get out
ahead of the next disaster
and also to generate
carbon credits that
we trade with the city
and other partners.
If people are interested
in doing some of this
wonderful work that you all do,
how in the world can
they get involved this fall?
You know, it's TreeFolks for a r
The trees are important, the fo
So maybe we have
volunteer opportunities
that folks can find online
at people stored.
So we love having families out,
Scout groups, service
organizations, school groups,
corporate partners, whoever
can come plant a tree.
Obviously, there's opportunity
to donate and support tree.
Work in that way as well. Sure.
And we're always
looking for more tree
stewards folks to learn
more about trees
stewards folks to learn
more about trees
and just take care
of the ones they see
in their neighborhood. Great.
Have you ever thought about
hiring an army of squirrels?
Because I know that
I have more trees
a pop up my yard
'cause of squirrels, just
just throwing that out there.
You know, we hadn't
really thought about it,
but you're right,
they could definitely help
help extend our pecan orchards.
Thank you so much, Andrew.
And Collin has been super duper
talking to you all.
Really love your organization
and all the great
work you're doing.
And I just want to thank you
again for all the viewers,
because y'all are just a whole
whole heap bunch
full of information.
Keep out there, plant trees,
and we'll see you in the wild.