October-March is tree planting season in Austin. While North Shoal Creek’s residential core has a pretty good tree canopy, overall our neighborhood needs more trees. If your yard can use one or more trees, you can probably get free ones from TreeFolks, a local non-profit that partners with the City of Austin to encourage tree planting and care.
There are two ways to get a free tree from TreeFolks:
- Sign up for their Tree Delivery service.
- call TreeFolks at 512-443-5323 or sign up online athttp://www.treefolks.org/nw/
You can also email a request to shade@treefolks.org.
- TreeFolks staff will contact you, evaluate your yard to see how many tree you have room for, and help you order your trees.
- Tree Folks delivers it (or them) to your home; deliveries take place between Nov. and March.
- Attend one of TreeFolks Tree Giveaway events.
- Four are planned for this planting season (Oct. 2017-Mar. 2018). The first one is Sat. Oct. 28, from 9-am to 2 pm at the Toney Burger Activity Center & Stadium, 3200 Jones Road. 1,200 trees will be available, all on a “first-come-first-served” basis; 1 tree per person; bring your ID or electric bill (needed to prove you live in Austin’s “full-purpose jurisdiction”).
- Dates and locations for the remaining 3 events are to be determined. Check the TreeFolks Events page (treefolks.org/events) or sign up for their email newsletter (scroll to the bottom of about any page to find the newsletter sign-up box).
- NSCNA’s Media Committee will post TreeFolks events in North Austin on NSCNA’s Facebook page and on NSCNA’s Yahoo Group.
This planting season, TreeFolks will be giving away 4,500 trees. Here’s how they describe them: “Each year we chose a wide selection of native and well-adapted trees which are grown by local tree farmers. They come in a 5-gallon container, so the trees are about 3-5’ tall, depending on the species” For more information on TreeFolks and their programs, visit their home page at
A 2010 analysis showed North Shoal Creek’s tree canopy to be 20.3%; overall, Austin’s tree canopy is 32%. Our neighborhood’s deficit is largely the result of the large commercial areas around our edges, but it’s real. In our neighborhood planning sessions, the need for a better tree canopy shading our streets and yards came up frequently. TreeFolks can be a great source for growing our neighborhood’s tree canopy. Let’s take advantage of this wonderful free tree offer this planting season!
