UTRGV students plant trees in San Carlos community

UTRGV students and faculty helped in the restoring of local nature on Dec. 10 during the Precinct 4 Community Forest Restoration Planting Event.

The event, held at the San Carlos Endowment Center, was an opportunity for students to plant trees to reforest one acre of the center. The effort was a collaboration between American Forests, Hidalgo County Precinct 4 and UTRGV, with aid from the Laura Jane Musser Fund.

Dr. Teresa Feria Arroyo, an associate professor from the UTRGV Biology Department, co-led the event, with students from her upper-level courses – Global Change Ecology and Conservation Biology – lending a hand as part of the service-learning and community engagement component of the classes.

“The students came here for a hands-on real-life experience, and applied what they have learned in class,” Feria said.

UTRGV students plant trees on Dec. 10 at the San Carlos Endowment Center as part of the Precinct 4 Community Forest Restoration Planting Event. The event was part of the Community Forest Restoration and Education Literacy Program that engages community residents in local environment topics and design. (UTRGV Photo by Regina Perez)

In addition to planting the trees, students participated in the preparation and layout of the plants prior to the event. Feria´s partnership with Alicia Rodriguez, the Hidalgo County site supervisor for Endowment Community Center PCT 4, led to the collaboration.

Rodriguez emphasized one goal of the one-acre site will be to educate the community on nature.

“In the future, there is going to be an area where you will be able to enjoy and maybe have a class …. A lot of nice things are coming,” Rodriguez said.

The planting event was part of the Community Forest Restoration and Education Literacy Program that engages community residents in local environment topics and design.

“The idea for this planting event is to bring the concept of restoration, which has been going on in the Valley for about 30 years through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other groups, to the community,” said Jon Dale, director of American Forests – Rio Grande Valley and Mexico.

American Forests sustains thornforest reforestation programs in the Valley and Mexico. Dale, who co-led the event, said he is currently working with UTRGV professors to understand climate change and its effect on local species.

Cassandra Sauceda, a biology major and a student in Feria’s class said participating in the reforestation event helped her learn about the importance of working and volunteering locally.

“I think this is a really good experience. I´ve never done anything this big,” Sauceda said. “In the future when we come back, this is going to be part of history. You can say that you were part of this.”

Follow the UTRGV Office for Sustainability on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ofs_utrgv/) to learn more about the university’s commitment to building key partnerships and future sustainability events.