TreeFolks

Our Story:

During a celebration of the Winter Solstice on December 21, 1988, a group of Austinites had a vision. They were concerned with global warming and deforestation, and wondered if planting trees could be a solution to address these issues locally. Thus, TreeFolks was born.

In the years since, TreeFolks has grown to be the leader in urban reforestation, and we remain Austin’s only nonprofit dedicated to community forestry. In 34 planting seasons, we’ve planted over 3 million trees, distributed over 170,000 free trees, and engaged over 22,000 volunteers.

What we're big on:

Community Building: TreeFolks engages thousands of volunteers and community groups to plant trees in public parks, preserves, and schoolyards.

Reforestation: TreeFolks works to restore degraded riparian areas in Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties.

Education: TreeFolks provides free, year-round education opportunities for all ages with an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning using the urban forest as our teacher. We teach folks about how trees provide shade, lower air temperatures, provide habitat for wildlife, and encourage outdoor time and recreation - all things we need more of in our urban communities.

Growing the Urban Forest: TreeFolks partners with the City of Austin to give trees to qualifying Austinites in the urban core through tree giveaways and consulting.

Addressing Tree Canopy Equity: TreeFolks recognizes that the communities that need trees the most are often ones that have been disinvested in. We’re committed to helping our neighbors grow more shade through plantings and distributions designed to address the greater need for trees in Austin’s Eastern Crescent.

Now, we ask you to help Amplify TreeFolks by donating so we may continue our mission to empower Central Texans to build stronger communities through planting and caring for trees.

Testimonials

We asked our volunteers to share the highlight of their TreeFolks volunteer experience: "Just seeing the impact we made as a whole, planting literally a thousand plus saplings made many of the participants incredibly excited to see that what they were doing was making a difference." "Giving back to a community that lost a lot in the Wimberley floods." "Learning about the importance of trees with my 8 years old daughter." "Understanding more about the mission behind the volunteer experience and being physically able to learn how to plant the tree samplings." "At the end seeing all those little flags and realizing that we had a really small group in comparison to an entire planet yet made a huge impact."

Volunteer Details

Our volunteer planting events correspond with the Central Texas tree planting season, which takes place from October to March. We count on 2,000 volunteers like you annually to help us plant trees on Saturday mornings in Austin's parks and greenbelts. Outside of planting season, you can get involved by collecting native tree seeds, giving your neighborhood trees some TLC, and tending to baby trees in our nursery. Volunteers also serve on the Board of Directors and our young professionals group; Tree Identification docents on our tree ID walks; and for administrative tasks, among other activities. Learn more at https://www.treefolks.org/event-category/volunteer/.