Register NOW for Sun Country Landscaping Conference

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County Extension Agent and West Texas Urban Forestry Council member,Denise Rodriguez, reminds us that: 

"Early registration [for the Sun Country Landscaping Conference] closes on October 31st. 

"John White will join me on the Good to Grow radio show on October 25th to promote the conference. Also, the Master Gardeners will have an educational booth at this weekend’s Home and Garden Show and will have printed programs on hand."

Denise has been the Chairwoman of this year's SCLC.

To see the conference program and print out a registration form, go HERE. You can also pre-register online HERE.

ALL persons are welcomed and will get valuable info and tips about trees (including fruit trees), rainwater management, turf and composting. Many sessions are in Spanish.

Plant Trees Now

Welcome to the first edition of The Tree Amigo©.  You are receiving this e-letter because of your current or past association with or interest in the West Texas Urban Forestry Council. If you do not wish to continue receiving this letter, please email me and say “Unsubscribe WTUFC”.  On the other hand, if you like the letter, please forward it to fellow professionals, friends, family and associates. Received duplicate emails? Please let me know.

Fall is the time to plant trees. WTUFC offers you good tree care advice including how to plant a tree and a tree selection guide based on landscaping and other considerations. The El Paso Water Utilities has a great plant list based on the need for water conservation.  You may also want to take a tour of the Chihuahuan Desert Gardens at the UTEP Centennial Museum.  Just a visit to their web page will give you much information about desert gardens and desert plants as you plan your fall gardening and landscaping.

Trees provide so many benefits to any urban environment. Read TreePeople’s Top 22 Benefits. Not just in spite of drought but because of drought and climate change, citizens and cities should be building their urban canopy. Trees add moisture to the atmosphere and reduce evaporation in the rest of the landscape. Trees help us adapt to a warming world. Not only do trees help conserve water, but newly planted trees only require 15 gallons or so of water each week. Strategies to keep and utilize rainwater where it falls (your yard, business location, city facility) are becoming better incorporated in landscaping and conservation and stormwater planning.  Take some simple steps or even bigger steps to harvest and manage rainwater.  Check out and surf Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s rainwater harvesting site.  Kudos to the City of Tucson for making rainwater harvesting a top priority.

Once planted trees play an important role in water conservation, stormwater management and urban cooling. By using rainwater harvesting techniques and employing low impact development strategies, planting more trees does not put an extra burden on cities dealing with drought and water scarcity.

So plant a tree . . . or trees. October is National Neighborwoods Month, a program created by  ACTrees, Alliance for Community Trees. Watch the U.S. Forest Service video about Neighborwoods Month. Associate Chief Mary Wagner talks about tree benefits as she encourages personal and community planting of trees.

Finally, this coming  Saturday, October 27^th, the Lost Dog Trail Head (also known as the Redd Road Trail Head) will be dedicated. (Map)  The Borderland Mountain Bike Association and benefactors have completed improving the trail head with gravel, parking spots and native Honey Mesquites donated by your West Texas Urban Forestry Council from a grant from the Koontz Fund of the Texas Society of Urban Foresters as part of Neighborwoods Month. WTUFC is expanding the urban canopy in the El Paso region.

The mission of the West Texas Urban Forestry Council is to promote the preservation, health and expansion of community trees in the El Paso region.

Together with the friends of WTUFC, "Los Tree Amigos", we work to promote desert green—shade friendly and water smart.

The Tree Amigo© is written and published by Jim Tolbert who takes sole responsibility for the content of the letter.

Many of you belong to groups or organizations whose members will want to read this letter. Please forward it to others. Anyone may subscribe or unsubscribe at any time by emailing me. Your email address will not be shared or sold.

Please visit and bookmark www.wtufc.org.

This is Volume 1 and Number 1 published on October 22, 2012

Save the Date for the Sun Country Landscape Conference

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The West Texas Urban Forestry Council has announced that this year's Sun Country Landscape Conference will be held on October 20th. For more information and to register online, please go here.