Blue Hole to add 600 trees in ‘Plant your Park’ event

The city of Wimberley Parks and Recreation department is partnering with TreeFolks — a long time Austin nonprofit — to plant over 600 tree saplings at Blue Hole Regional Park later this month. TreeFolks’ website lists community building as one of its goals by “engaging thousands of volunteers and community groups to plant trees in public parks, preserves, and school yards.”

The Blue Hole project is part of the organization’s Central Texas Floodplain Reforestation Program working to restore and diversify forest buffers in floodplains, streamsides and riparian areas. A riparian area is the low area edging a river, stream or lake. The program helps improve water quality, mitigate flooding, promote regional cooling and create wildlife habitat according to the TreeFolk website.

Wimberley’s park and recreation director Richard Shaver shared his excitement about the event.

“There’s a unique and satisfying feeling to invest in the future of our area and parks,” he said. “Public assistance is necessary on big tasks like this. To invite our community and see their response and involvement is very special.”

Shaver referenced the circumstances during both the 2015 Memorial Day and 2018 floods as the need for protection and replacement of damaged and lost trees through reforestation projects.

“There’s a great need for biodiversity — not only in the type or variety of trees but in their age — in the park and along the creek and river,” he explained. “Some of the trees downed in the floodwaters were hundreds of years old. Here’s an opportunity to plant something that will long outlive each of us but will benefit others hundreds of years from now.”

Work is slated to begin with coffee and sign in at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21, followed by a safety briefing and planting instructions. All materials needed will be provided on location.

Bryce Burkhalter, Natural Resources and Maintenance Manager, spearheads the project in coordination with Tree-Folks and can be reached by email at bburkhalter@ cityofwimberley. com for questions or to get assistance registering. Online volunteer registration is available at treefolks.dm.networkforgood. com/forms/ volunteer-tree-plantingat- blue-hole-wimber-ley- 1-21-23.