The Texas Trees Foundation is giving away trees to anyone who lives within a mile of two “cool schools” in Oak Cliff.
Leila P. Cowart and Anson Jones elementary schools are the site of future Cool Schools neighborhood parks. The 35-year-old Dallas-based nonprofit launched Cool Schools last year because of a 2015 study that found 29% of Dallas as a whole is covered by tree canopy, but only 7% of schools are.
From the foundation’s website:
Dallas has one of the most challenging urban climates in the United States and has been ranked 8th by the American Lung Association for the worst air quality in the nation for ozone and non-attainment for the EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards. This air quality situation affects over 89,000 children in Dallas. School campuses in Dallas are some of the hottest and least shaded urban heat islands in North Texas.
The good news is that simply planting trees can help, and if you live within one mile of either school, you’re eligible to receive one or two free trees to plant on your property.
Not only that, but Texas Trees Foundation will teach you to plant and care for it, as long as you provide the manual labor:
Each tree will be accompanied by a bag of mulch, tree planting and maintenance instructions, and prepared with the optimal tree planting location marked. Residents receiving a tree agree to water and tend to the trees during its establishment period.
Find the radius maps below, and register to receive a tree here. Those living within one mile of Esparanza “Hope” Medrano Elementary in the North Dallas medical district or Mockingbird Elementary in East Dallas can also register.
