Quinta Mazatlan is donating some 1,200 trees to McAllen ISD in recognition of Arbor Day and Earth Day, as well as a way to lay the groundwork for miniature forests across town.
At a monetary value of $2,400, the donation is relatively negligible for the district.
It is, however, a donation that will grow, both physically and in value to the community.
“These trees include honey mesquite and rio grande ash, which are native to the Rio Grande Valley,” district CFO Adel Felix said, noting each campus will receive 40 seedlings. “We plan to utilize these trees to create mini-forests at some of our campuses, beginning with Cathey Middle School.”
John Brush, urban ecologist and Quinta representative, said those seedlings will grow into shade trees for students, staff and community members, trees that’ll look pretty and provide habitat for local critters.
“So the idea of mini-forests is to do small-scale urban restoration, basically, and creating diverse, dense forests for the plethora of ecosystem services they offer people in our towns and cities,” he said. “So, take a small, barren plot of land, a grassy field, and then plant a whole bunch of trees and woody shrubs that are native to the Rio Grande Valley.”
Quinta is already working on one mini-forest project near the Palm View Community Center, Brush said.
Trustees received the donation favorably. Sofia Pena joked she’d donate her front yard for a mini-forest and noted the importance of the trees heading to MISD campuses, a point echoed by Board President Sam Saldivar.
“This is more important than ever, because many of us grew up — those of us that are old enough — remember when there were fields of orchards and fields of native plants still in place in the community,” he said. “And now there’s a lot of blacktops, a lot of concrete, and that has a profound impact on the temperature and the climate in the area. So this is great.”
The tree donation comes some half-a-year after the district partnered with Quinta and approved a $4 million contribution to expand the urban sanctuary.
Trustees noted that agreement Monday and pointed to the tree donation as a product of the closer relationship developed by the partnership.
“This very quick response to a commitment that we made with the city of McAllen through Quinta Mazatlan of what we were wanting to do, so this is a great response to see at a very quick pace,” Saldivar said.
