McAllen Parks and Recreation hosts tree planting ceremony

MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The City of McAllen Parks and Recreation Department hosted a tree planting ceremony on Thursday after receiving a $15,000 grant.

The grant is courtesy of the Texas A&M Forest Service Community Forestry Grant to add two urban forests. The trees will be planted by city after-school program participants at Escandon Elementary.

The purpose of the trees is to connect kids to the importance of trees in their community and show how vital they are for the future of the parks.

The Parks and Recreation Department launched the Urban Forest Initiative by planting a minimum of 36 native trees, at least two inches in caliper, and six to eight feet in height in a public park covering a quarter to half acre of land.

An Urban Forest can be found at McAllen parks such as Frontage Park, Morris Park, Municipal Park, Crockett Park, Palm View Park, Garza Park, Bill Schupp Park, Summer Breeze Park, and Escandon Park.