East Texans beautify field for Arbor Day by planting trees

NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KTRE) - In celebration of Texas Arbor Day, now’s the time to start planting trees.

Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful participated by hosting a park beautification day at the Coy Simms Softball Fields.

A member of the Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful board of directors, Dawn Stover, said, “National Arbor Day actually occurs in April, which is a not great time to plant trees in Texas because it’s knocking on the door of summertime.”

She said fall and winter are the best times to plant trees.

“Our brutal time of the year is the summertime, and we want those plants to establish really good root systems,” she said.

Stover said they chose native trees appropriate for this location.

“I chose things like overcup oak and white oak -- things that will tolerate the heavier soils,” said Stover.

She said 95 trees were planted by staff and volunteers to promote a comfortable environment for trail-goers.

“There is an exercise trail on the back side of it that loops over to the Clint Dipsy soccer complex, and we were able to plant some trees to provide shade for that trail. And, of course, all along this creek too, to slow down water and mitigate some erosion issues,” said Stover.

Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful Executive Director Ashley Villarreal said tree planting affects everybody.

“If you have the ability to plant a tree in your yard, this is definitely the best time to do it,” said Villarreal.

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