Texas Trees Foundation

📢 Calling all citizen scientists! We are excited to share an upcoming volunteer opportunity with the Texas Trees Foundation. 🌡️🗺️ On Saturday, August 10th, the Texas Trees Foundation will partner with the City of Dallas to support an urban heat island mapping campaign. Texas Trees volunteers will take surface temperature measurements at designated locations around Dallas using provided equipment. ☀️🏙️Interested in being a part of a study that will generate awareness and understanding about the urban heat island effect, and assist in innovating equitable solutions for a cooler, cleaner, and greener Dallas? Please sign up by scanning the QR Code or completing the volunteer form at https://bit.ly/4bZgMav. Reach out to Devin Schexnayder at devin@texastrees.org if you have any questions! ___________________________________________________ 📢 ¡Queremos científicos ciudadanos! Estamos muy contentos de compartir una nueva oportunidad de voluntarios con la Fundación Texas Trees.   🌡️🗺️ El sábado 10 de agosto, Texas Trees Foundation se unirá a  City of Dallas para apoyar una campaña de cartografía de la isla de calor urbana. Los voluntarios de Texas Trees tomarán la temperatura de la superficie en lugares designados de la ciudad de Dallas utilizando el equipo proporcionado.   ☀️🏙️¿Le interesa formar parte de un estudio que generará conocimiento y comprensión sobre el efecto de la isla de calor urbana y contribuirá a innovar soluciones equitativas para un Dallas más fresco, limpio y sostenible? Inscríbase escaneando el código QR o rellene el formulario de voluntariado en https://bit.ly/4bZgMav. Si tiene alguna pregunta, póngase en contacto con Devin Schexnayder a: devin@texastrees.org.

Texas Trees Foundation is seeking an intern to join our Cool Schools Program™. Please apply at www.texastrees.org/jobs. 🌳

Texas Trees is thrilled to welcome another Green Team member — Welcome Devin! 🌳

Last fall, the SWMD Urban Streetscape and Park Project and our partners at MIG distributed a Community Engagement Survey to gather data on people's current experiences in the Southwestern Medical District and to better understand their desires for improvement to the outdoor landscape via the Green Spine and Green Park. 📌🗺️ Respondents pinpointed areas on a map where they experience heat, and conversely, where they feel comfortable. After the survey closed, the team populated heat maps to show patterns of people's experiences in the SWMD. The locations shared today were hot spots and comfortable, cool spots that many people indicated! 🌡️📸 In June, the team collected surface temperature measurements and captured photos in these different locations in the SWMD, analyzing some of the factors influencing people's thermal comfort across these spaces. We found that the areas where people felt comfortable had higher tree canopy cover, more ground-level plantings, and seating in shaded areas. The "hot spots" were in areas with higher concentrations of the built environment, vehicular traffic, minimal shade provided by trees, and seating opportunities were often in full or partial sun. On a 90° F, partly sunny day, surface temperature readings ranged from a low of 76° F on shaded greenery to a high of 115° F on a wooden bench in full sun. These insights from the community, combined with different approaches to measuring temperatures, will help us understand how to best design places that are enjoyable for people to utilize and that they will feel most comfortable in. Design decisions matter for human comfort and health! Surface Temperature readings were collected by non-scientists using the Etekcity Lasergrip 360° Infrared Thermometer. #evidencebaseddesign #communityengagement #urbandesign #landscapedesign #publicspaces

As part of the largest urban heat island in Dallas and with only 7% of the public right-of-way shaded and cooled by tree canopy cover, the team hopes to effect large-scale change in the Southwestern Medical District by driving green infrastructure change. However, our team and partners are passionate and skilled in designing interventions that focus on even the smallest details affecting pedestrians' experiences. Through our work, we demonstrate the impact of every design choice on how pedestrians perceive and interact with their environment. Head over to @ Southwestern Medical District Urban Streetscape and Park Project and Hyphae Design Laboratory to learn more about how the project team is utilizing sensor data to inform design decisions to create a cooler, cleaner, greener, and safer SWMD.

We'd like to welcome a new member, Faith Socall, to TTF's Green Team! We're glad to have you aboard!

Sun ☀️ and Shade 🌳 Studies have been a central part of the design process as the team and our partners have modeled the effectiveness of various tree layouts along the Green Spine (Harry Hines Boulevard) and the future site of the Green Park (Harry Hines/Inwood Road) across environmental and human health variables. Green Spine - Findings: "Tree Groves" are the preferred layout for the Green Spine to maximize shade along the pedestrian pathways, making for a much cooler and healthier experience for people walking and cycling. Tree Groves take on the form of varied species, sizes, and spacing between trees to mimic how trees naturally grow. Green Park - Findings: "Tree Clusters" are the preferred layout for the Green Park. By planting in an organic pattern like the Tree Groves along the Green Spine, park users will have a unique experience resembling being in a forested area. Planting in Tree Clusters creates maximal shade for pedestrians, and increases tree biodiversity and resiliency. ➡️ Swipe to see a heat map showing the sun and shade levels of each layout and the pros and cons associated with each! Field Operations Hyphae Design Laboratory #urbanheat #evidencebaseddesign #urbandesign #landscapedesign

This summer Texas Trees is embracing the shade! Looking for ways to get involved? Join our volunteer initiatives: https://ow.ly/b4Zj50SxnmI, donate to our projects https://ow.ly/Xb6a50SxnmK, and help share our mission and reports to help spread awareness. Follow along to learn more about urban heat and how our work is helping to create a cooler, cleaner, and greener Dallas. Send your photos of how you #EmbraceTheShade to jane@texastrees.org to get featured! 🌳🕶���🌱

🌳 Congratulations to all 6 of our Green Jobs Work Force Graduates! 🌳 We are incredibly proud of our latest cohort of graduates who have successfully completed the Green Jobs Workforce Program. Their dedication and hard work are helping meet the growing need of a trained urban forestry workforce. 🌱 A heartfelt thank you to our amazing partners, Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas, TRAC -Transition Resource Action Center, and First Horizon Bank, and our funders The Muse Family Foundation, The Addy Foundation, Texas A&M Forest Service, and the Department of Labor through Representative Jasmine Crockett, who made this program possible. Your support is helping to create a sustainable future and providing young adults with valuable skills and career opportunities in urban forestry and arboriculture. Together, we are making a difference! 💚🌱 #GreenJobs #UrbanForestry #CommunityImpact #Sustainability

Texas Trees Foundation has two new openings available. Please visit us at www.texastrees.org/jobs for more information and to apply. 🌳