Bexar Branches Alliance, a San Antonio-based urban forestry non-profit, recently completed a series of educational visits to five local schools. The organization shared forestry presentations with a total of 800 fourth and fifth-grade students, alongside a significant tree-planting effort that saw more than 500 trees added to school grounds.

The initiative was made possible by the 2023 Climate Resiliency Grant awarded to Bexar Branches Alliance through the Texas A&M Forest Service Community Forestry Grants program. The non-profit received $50,000 to implement impactful improvements in Texas communities and urban forests, addressing the challenges posed by changing environments.

Founded in 2021, Bexar Branches Alliance emerged from a conceptualization in 2020. The organization's mission, as articulated by Executive Director Jaci Randel, is to expand and preserve the urban forest in an equitable manner, ensuring ecological resilience for the communities it serves.

Comprising three key facets—native tree planting projects, tree maintenance programs, and education opportunities for local schools—Bexar Branches Alliance integrates ecological and socioeconomic data to devise equitable forestry solutions for Bexar County.

Under its Project CANOPY initiative, the non-profit visited five schools in Bexar County during the fall, delivering a forestry educational curriculum to over 800 students and planting more than 500 trees in schoolyards. The climate resiliency grant funds have enabled the acquisition of materials and resources, including trees and educational tree tags, supporting such initiatives.

Beyond schools, Bexar Branches Alliance collaborates with neighborhoods in Bexar County, engaging in tree planting and maintenance efforts. The organization also provides educational and outreach resources to raise awareness about community and urban forestry.

The Texas A&M Forest Service Community Forestry Grants program, which began in 2023, expanded this year to eight categories, totaling $16.65 million in grants. The submission window for grant applications is set to open on December 11 and will close on February 16, 2024.