{"version":"1.0.0","segments":[{"startTime":0.48,"endTime":4.16,"body":"Welcome to Big City, Small Town, the show about the people who make San Antonio"},{"startTime":4.16,"endTime":7.68,"body":"go and grow. I'm your host today, Corey Ames, and my"},{"startTime":7.68,"endTime":11.32,"body":"guest is Jackie Randall, executive director of the Bear"},{"startTime":11.32,"endTime":15.16,"body":"Branches Alliance. Jackie moved to San antonio from Norfolk,"},{"startTime":15.16,"endTime":18.88,"body":"Virginia in December of 2019. And during COVID she"},{"startTime":18.88,"endTime":22.52,"body":"and a small group of arboriculture experts decided to start"},{"startTime":22.52,"endTime":26.32,"body":"something. They founded the Bear Branches alliance, an"},{"startTime":26.32,"endTime":29.52,"body":"urban forestry nonprofit focused on preserving and expanding"},{"startTime":29.76,"endTime":33.52,"body":"tree canopy across the region. Here's what caught my attention."},{"startTime":34.0,"endTime":37.52,"body":"Bexar county has lost 20% of its tree canopy since"},{"startTime":37.52,"endTime":41.36,"body":"2000. Texas as a whole has lost nearly"},{"startTime":41.36,"endTime":45.16,"body":"25%. And to achieve what's called tree equity"},{"startTime":45.16,"endTime":48.4,"body":"across San Antonio, which you'll hear more about in the interview to come,"},{"startTime":48.72,"endTime":52.52,"body":"we'd need to plant over 1.5 million trees. It's a big"},{"startTime":52.52,"endTime":56.28,"body":"number. But Jackie's organization isn't waiting around. They're planting"},{"startTime":56.28,"endTime":59.7,"body":"trees in school, training citizen foresters,"},{"startTime":59.94,"endTime":63.62,"body":"and pushing for the kind of regional collaboration this challenge"},{"startTime":63.7,"endTime":67.38,"body":"requires. I wanted to understand what it takes to rebuild"},{"startTime":67.38,"endTime":71.1,"body":"something as essential and frankly, as overlooked as the"},{"startTime":71.1,"endTime":74.26,"body":"trees over our heads. Let's get into it."},{"startTime":75.54,"endTime":78.94,"body":"Let's get started with discussing your background. First and"},{"startTime":78.94,"endTime":82.62,"body":"foremost. Tell me about how you came to the executive director position at"},{"startTime":82.62,"endTime":86.32,"body":"Bear Branches and maybe San Antonio Spring specifically. Sure. Thank you"},{"startTime":86.32,"endTime":90.04,"body":"for this opportunity. So I moved back to San Antonio"},{"startTime":90.04,"endTime":93.8,"body":"in December of 2019 with my husband from Norfolk, Virginia."},{"startTime":93.96,"endTime":97.56,"body":"In Norfolk, I was able to join an organization"},{"startTime":97.56,"endTime":101.4,"body":"called Friends of Norfolk's Environment. It was a very small nonprofit focused"},{"startTime":101.4,"endTime":105.04,"body":"on tree planting and mitigating sea level rise with planting"},{"startTime":105.04,"endTime":108.64,"body":"trees and brackish waters. And that is really where I"},{"startTime":108.64,"endTime":111.8,"body":"learned what board service meant and what the power of a small"},{"startTime":112.43,"endTime":116.19,"body":"group of individuals can do to really impact the tree canopy in their city."},{"startTime":116.67,"endTime":120.31,"body":"So when we decided to move back to San Antonio, my husband and I"},{"startTime":120.31,"endTime":123.95,"body":"decided that we wanted to make an impact like that here"},{"startTime":123.95,"endTime":127.71,"body":"in San Antonio there was not really an urban forestry nonprofit"},{"startTime":127.71,"endTime":131.55,"body":"that was focused on the tree canopy, preserving it,"},{"startTime":131.55,"endTime":134.83,"body":"expanding it, very similar to what tree folks does in Austin."},{"startTime":135.15,"endTime":138.91,"body":"And so we got together with a few other people"},{"startTime":138.91,"endTime":142.47,"body":"that have a lot of knowledge about the urban"},{"startTime":142.47,"endTime":146.17,"body":"forest in San Antonio. Decades of history and knowledge"},{"startTime":146.17,"endTime":149.61,"body":"in a boriculture. And so we decided to"},{"startTime":150.17,"endTime":154.01,"body":"use our time productively during COVID and figure out how to"},{"startTime":154.01,"endTime":157.05,"body":"start a non profit and Bear Branches alliance was formed."},{"startTime":158.09,"endTime":161.93,"body":"And what was community reception like? I mean, you talk about the number"},{"startTime":161.93,"endTime":165.69,"body":"of stakeholders involved and experts and folks with a"},{"startTime":165.69,"endTime":169.33,"body":"lot of experience here in San Antonio's work in parks and"},{"startTime":169.33,"endTime":173.09,"body":"recreation and even Ecology. What was reception like as you"},{"startTime":173.09,"endTime":176.89,"body":"started to toss this idea around? So the first thing when we"},{"startTime":176.89,"endTime":180.17,"body":"decided to form Bear Branches alliance is really understand"},{"startTime":181.21,"endTime":184.93,"body":"the reality of our urban forest in the region. And when we built"},{"startTime":184.93,"endTime":188.73,"body":"our mission and initiatives, we wanted to identify data that can really"},{"startTime":188.73,"endTime":191.93,"body":"help tell the story of where trees are and where trees are not"},{"startTime":192.25,"endTime":196.05,"body":"and help us focus our initial efforts to bringing our mission to life in"},{"startTime":196.05,"endTime":199.53,"body":"those communities. So we really spent the first year after"},{"startTime":200.15,"endTime":203.67,"body":"we became a nonprofit really talking to the community and"},{"startTime":203.75,"endTime":207.43,"body":"bringing the data that we learned to these neighborhoods,"},{"startTime":207.43,"endTime":210.87,"body":"to different municipalities, and sharing"},{"startTime":211.03,"endTime":214.47,"body":"what worked well throughout the country"},{"startTime":214.95,"endTime":218.75,"body":"and learned how they wanted to engage in their neighborhood"},{"startTime":218.75,"endTime":222.51,"body":"tree canopy in the municipal city tree canopy. And so"},{"startTime":222.51,"endTime":225.91,"body":"from that feedback, then we started developing programs."},{"startTime":226.7,"endTime":229.82,"body":"And the programs that we have developed, we did not"},{"startTime":230.14,"endTime":233.82,"body":"invent anything new. And the wonderful thing I have learned"},{"startTime":233.82,"endTime":236.9,"body":"about just the nonprofit world is if you pick up the phone and say, hey,"},{"startTime":236.9,"endTime":240.22,"body":"you have this program? How is it going? How did you"},{"startTime":240.54,"endTime":244.3,"body":"form it? Any obstacles? And folks were"},{"startTime":244.3,"endTime":248.14,"body":"really open and generous with their time. That"},{"startTime":248.14,"endTime":251.9,"body":"saved us a lot of making the same mistakes and launching"},{"startTime":251.9,"endTime":255.58,"body":"our programming. Much sooner, once we got community feedback and"},{"startTime":255.58,"endTime":259.319,"body":"learned what they wanted to do and how they wanted to engage, than it was"},{"startTime":259.319,"endTime":263.039,"body":"just making the case to get the funding, using data, using"},{"startTime":263.039,"endTime":265.959,"body":"the community's feedback to get these projects off the ground."},{"startTime":266.839,"endTime":270.479,"body":"What maybe in your survey, both of what you"},{"startTime":270.479,"endTime":273.999,"body":"identified was working well across the country, and"},{"startTime":273.999,"endTime":277.679,"body":"then acutely what San Antonio and this region needed. What maybe"},{"startTime":277.679,"endTime":281.279,"body":"surprised you the most or that you"},{"startTime":281.279,"endTime":285.07,"body":"learned between that point of the conception of"},{"startTime":285.07,"endTime":288.87,"body":"the idea to actually fully forming the nonprofit, what"},{"startTime":288.87,"endTime":292.27,"body":"might be the programming and those sorts of things. So I think"},{"startTime":292.91,"endTime":296.75,"body":"one of the biggest eye openers for us all was the research that"},{"startTime":296.75,"endTime":300.549,"body":"we found that tells the story of what we're currently facing"},{"startTime":300.549,"endTime":304.39,"body":"with our urban canopy. It started with a study at"},{"startTime":304.39,"endTime":308.15,"body":"morton arboretum in 2022 that shows 1 in 9 of"},{"startTime":308.15,"endTime":311.91,"body":"our native tree species across the US states. The 48 contiguous"},{"startTime":311.91,"endTime":315.67,"body":"states is at risk of extinction. Here in Texas, we're one of the top five"},{"startTime":315.67,"endTime":319.49,"body":"states native trees are risk, at risk, specifically our oaks and"},{"startTime":319.49,"endTime":322.97,"body":"our hawthorns. From that, then, you know, did some more research"},{"startTime":323.05,"endTime":326.69,"body":"to understand our canopy loss, canopy growth. There is an"},{"startTime":326.69,"endTime":330.05,"body":"organization called Global Forest Watch and that breaks down"},{"startTime":330.05,"endTime":333.61,"body":"canopy cover from 2001 until now"},{"startTime":333.69,"endTime":337.21,"body":"2024. It breaks it down from country,"},{"startTime":337.37,"endTime":341.17,"body":"state, region, county, and city. So"},{"startTime":341.17,"endTime":344.56,"body":"using that, that also gave us the perspective of"},{"startTime":345.44,"endTime":348.56,"body":"how much canopy we have lost and"},{"startTime":349.12,"endTime":352.88,"body":"pointed in direction to find out what we needed to"},{"startTime":352.88,"endTime":356.72,"body":"do as a community, because it's way beyond just us"},{"startTime":356.8,"endTime":360.56,"body":"to achieve these goals to replace and"},{"startTime":360.64,"endTime":364.36,"body":"help recover our canopy. With Global Forest Watch, the"},{"startTime":364.36,"endTime":367.92,"body":"state of Texas, we've lost 25% of our tree canopy since 2000."},{"startTime":368.4,"endTime":372.12,"body":"Bexar county alone, we've lost 20% of our tree canopy since"},{"startTime":372.12,"endTime":375.72,"body":"2000. And with a loss of tree canopy, of course that"},{"startTime":375.72,"endTime":379.56,"body":"makes our environment hotter and drier. So we've seen a rise in temperature with"},{"startTime":379.56,"endTime":383.2,"body":"Heat island, we've seen a rise in pollution from"},{"startTime":383.28,"endTime":386.92,"body":"the American Lung Association. We were just, I guess going in the"},{"startTime":386.92,"endTime":390.6,"body":"wrong direction. We went from the 23rd most polluted city in"},{"startTime":390.6,"endTime":394.36,"body":"2023 to in 2024, the 20th most polluted city when"},{"startTime":394.36,"endTime":397.92,"body":"it comes to ozone and air pollution. And there is a direct correlation between"},{"startTime":397.92,"endTime":401.64,"body":"canopy loss and, you know, more pollution. And I"},{"startTime":401.64,"endTime":405.27,"body":"think as we, you know, as we formed and as we are"},{"startTime":405.27,"endTime":408.87,"body":"connecting the community to our trees, one of the"},{"startTime":409.03,"endTime":412.59,"body":"key things that we want to make sure that come across is, you know,"},{"startTime":412.59,"endTime":415.83,"body":"trees, they offer wonderful services, right? They clean our air,"},{"startTime":416.07,"endTime":419.75,"body":"they give us shade, they help both our mental and physical"},{"startTime":420.23,"endTime":423.91,"body":"health, but they're also critical infrastructure. And as"},{"startTime":423.91,"endTime":426.79,"body":"we live in, you know, the region we do,"},{"startTime":427.51,"endTime":431.36,"body":"it's important to see the holistic picture of trees. Right. So"},{"startTime":431.36,"endTime":435.08,"body":"our last regional urban forestry conference we really kind of took a nod"},{"startTime":435.08,"endTime":437.8,"body":"of, you know, kind of what the direction of"},{"startTime":438.84,"endTime":442.28,"body":"our country, our, you know, funding priorities are."},{"startTime":442.44,"endTime":445.64,"body":"And we made it a point to connect"},{"startTime":446.12,"endTime":449.76,"body":"the importance of the canopy to not"},{"startTime":449.76,"endTime":453.52,"body":"only the health and well being of our communities, but as being a military city"},{"startTime":453.52,"endTime":457.35,"body":"usa as we get hotter, we get drier, we get"},{"startTime":457.35,"endTime":460.95,"body":"more polluted. There are national security risks that are also implicated with"},{"startTime":460.95,"endTime":464.71,"body":"that. Right. So there's a larger, I think, broader conversation"},{"startTime":464.71,"endTime":467.83,"body":"to have in regards to our tree canopy and the"},{"startTime":467.83,"endTime":471.39,"body":"importance of not only our community's health"},{"startTime":471.47,"endTime":475.31,"body":"but you know, the broader perspective. Well, before"},{"startTime":475.31,"endTime":478.83,"body":"we delve even deeper into the impacts,"},{"startTime":479.55,"endTime":483.39,"body":"spell it out a little bit more the status of the"},{"startTime":483.39,"endTime":487.19,"body":"tree canopy. Obviously you cited significant loss there both in"},{"startTime":487.19,"endTime":490.09,"body":"Bexar county and the state of Texas at large."},{"startTime":490.97,"endTime":494.25,"body":"Just guessing that's development related. It's"},{"startTime":494.25,"endTime":498.09,"body":"climactic concerns and changes. But if you"},{"startTime":498.09,"endTime":501.93,"body":"could get more specific for us, to the extent that you're aware, what"},{"startTime":501.93,"endTime":505.29,"body":"are the main drivers of that"},{"startTime":505.29,"endTime":508.89,"body":"canopy loss and splitting it up like"},{"startTime":508.89,"endTime":512.73,"body":"a pie, what's top ranked and"},{"startTime":512.81,"endTime":516.35,"body":"priority of what we should be aware about? So as far as"},{"startTime":516.35,"endTime":520.07,"body":"the research or the data that we get from Global Forest Watch, it doesn't break"},{"startTime":520.07,"endTime":523.59,"body":"it down into X percent of canopy was lost due to"},{"startTime":524.79,"endTime":528.55,"body":"development, x due to climate, but we do know that a significant"},{"startTime":528.63,"endTime":532.31,"body":"portion of the canopy was lost during winter Storm Uri. Right."},{"startTime":532.31,"endTime":536.07,"body":"That freeze came right after 80 degree weather where the trees were"},{"startTime":536.07,"endTime":539.75,"body":"starting to bud and they had all their SAP flowing and then we had the"},{"startTime":539.75,"endTime":543.23,"body":"hard freeze and that's what killed a lot of our trees. But as we get"},{"startTime":543.23,"endTime":546.93,"body":"hotter and drier, those to drought and heat,"},{"startTime":547.01,"endTime":550.81,"body":"that's two separate stresses on trees. So a lot of our native trees,"},{"startTime":550.81,"endTime":554.29,"body":"like the shumard, red oaks and even pecans, we won't"},{"startTime":554.29,"endTime":558.01,"body":"plant those in the majority of our plantings right now. Because as"},{"startTime":558.01,"endTime":561.53,"body":"we are looking at planting, we are looking"},{"startTime":561.53,"endTime":565.13,"body":"at what's going to survive in a"},{"startTime":565.13,"endTime":568.97,"body":"hotter, drier San Antonio in 30 to 40 years from now. And unfortunately,"},{"startTime":568.97,"endTime":572.82,"body":"some of our natives just don't have that capacity anymore. So"},{"startTime":572.82,"endTime":576.5,"body":"our plan as we look at plant migration is to"},{"startTime":576.5,"endTime":580.02,"body":"really look south and west of us to see"},{"startTime":580.82,"endTime":584.58,"body":"what is doing well in temperatures that are"},{"startTime":584.82,"endTime":588.54,"body":"3 to 5 degrees hotter. The other thing that's really important as we"},{"startTime":588.54,"endTime":592.22,"body":"look at species list and we look at our urban canopy in general, is ensuring"},{"startTime":592.22,"endTime":594.66,"body":"that we're not just planting a tree."},{"startTime":596.1,"endTime":599.02,"body":"We want to make sure that we're planting the right tree for the ecology of"},{"startTime":599.02,"endTime":602.82,"body":"our region. Every tree supports more than just us as humans with"},{"startTime":603.51,"endTime":607.19,"body":"clean air. It supports an entire ecosystem. The,"},{"startTime":607.19,"endTime":610.99,"body":"the pollinators, the, you know, the butterflies, bees, all of those wonderful"},{"startTime":610.99,"endTime":614.83,"body":"things that, that need to keep our entire ecosystem, which"},{"startTime":614.83,"endTime":617.43,"body":"then keeps our communities healthy."},{"startTime":618.63,"endTime":622.47,"body":"Well, and I mean, it's also connected whether it's the, the pollinators and"},{"startTime":622.47,"endTime":625.07,"body":"the relationship to, you know, I don't know how many it is, one in three"},{"startTime":625.07,"endTime":628.75,"body":"bites of food or whatever you know, is, is as a result"},{"startTime":628.75,"endTime":632.28,"body":"of pollination from, from, from bees, for example,"},{"startTime":632.68,"endTime":636.48,"body":"or the impacts of trees and the"},{"startTime":636.48,"endTime":640.04,"body":"health of our, and retention of our soils, whether we're talking about"},{"startTime":640.04,"endTime":643.56,"body":"flooding or just the immediate experiences of shade. But"},{"startTime":643.56,"endTime":646.12,"body":"likewise trees and their ability to"},{"startTime":647.16,"endTime":650.96,"body":"transpire and be almost like air conditioners for"},{"startTime":650.96,"endTime":654.44,"body":"us out and about. Let's talk more about those impacts. Because"},{"startTime":654.52,"endTime":658.36,"body":"one thing for me that is always kind of frustrating is that"},{"startTime":658.52,"endTime":661.95,"body":"I definitely see the case being made for"},{"startTime":662.35,"endTime":666.19,"body":"both the planting of and protection"},{"startTime":666.51,"endTime":669.47,"body":"of existing trees made from the sense of"},{"startTime":670.35,"endTime":673.91,"body":"kind of a, I guess, just purely avoiding"},{"startTime":673.91,"endTime":676.67,"body":"loss, you know, and strictly mitigation."},{"startTime":677.47,"endTime":681.31,"body":"And that is by all means valid and legitimate. But I do think"},{"startTime":681.31,"endTime":685.03,"body":"that what is maybe missed in some essence is a"},{"startTime":685.03,"endTime":688.57,"body":"narrative or message promoting that the more that we plant both"},{"startTime":688.57,"endTime":692.29,"body":"trees and, you know, all species of native vegetation, the more we"},{"startTime":692.29,"endTime":695.93,"body":"can have like perhaps reverse some of these most damaging"},{"startTime":695.93,"endTime":699.69,"body":"and threatening trends with climate. So let's talk a little bit more. You mentioned"},{"startTime":699.69,"endTime":703.53,"body":"them all in brief, but as you're looking at it as an organization and"},{"startTime":703.53,"endTime":706.45,"body":"the on the ground work that you've done to date, you know, what are some"},{"startTime":706.45,"endTime":709.77,"body":"of the impacts that you're assessing, you know, in communities that"},{"startTime":710.01,"endTime":713.61,"body":"are shed so much tree canopy versus those that"},{"startTime":713.61,"endTime":716.49,"body":"may have a little bit of a healthier stance, like what are some of those"},{"startTime":716.49,"endTime":720.15,"body":"high level things that you're really noticing make a major difference in those communities"},{"startTime":720.15,"endTime":723.99,"body":"without trees versus those with them? So one of the"},{"startTime":723.99,"endTime":727.67,"body":"tools we use is from American Forest, it's their National Tree"},{"startTime":728.23,"endTime":731.83,"body":"Explorer. And that breaks up every census block"},{"startTime":731.83,"endTime":735.43,"body":"and it gets a tree equity score. We use that to"},{"startTime":735.43,"endTime":738.99,"body":"identify where there is need of"},{"startTime":738.99,"endTime":742.71,"body":"canopy. So in San Antonio, every census block should have a"},{"startTime":742.71,"endTime":746.45,"body":"goal of 40% tree canopy. Our program rooted"},{"startTime":746.45,"endTime":750.29,"body":"resilience. We chose the census block in San Antonio that"},{"startTime":750.29,"endTime":753.13,"body":"has the lowest tree equity score, which is 36."},{"startTime":753.85,"endTime":757.61,"body":"So preserving the mature trees in neighborhoods like that that"},{"startTime":757.61,"endTime":761.21,"body":"have minimal canopy is almost as important as planting"},{"startTime":761.37,"endTime":764.97,"body":"new trees because of the environmental and ecological"},{"startTime":764.97,"endTime":768.49,"body":"services those trees provide. So knowing that"},{"startTime":768.97,"endTime":771.77,"body":"a census block like that, to achieve tree equity,"},{"startTime":772.26,"endTime":775.74,"body":"238 trees need to be planted to get that 40%"},{"startTime":775.74,"endTime":779.58,"body":"canopy cover. And with that canopy cover, that means"},{"startTime":779.58,"endTime":782.82,"body":"cleaner air for that community, cooler temperatures for that community."},{"startTime":783.78,"endTime":787.1,"body":"I'm learning a lot as I join eco"},{"startTime":787.1,"endTime":790.82,"body":"tours about some of the"},{"startTime":790.82,"endTime":794.02,"body":"areas in San Antonio that historically have"},{"startTime":794.9,"endTime":798.58,"body":"not been taken care of, have been redlined, industry has been built"},{"startTime":798.58,"endTime":802.32,"body":"around them, and the quality of life and the health outcomes for these"},{"startTime":802.32,"endTime":805.48,"body":"neighborhoods is horrific. And"},{"startTime":806.68,"endTime":810.12,"body":"the lack of canopy in these neighborhoods, you can"},{"startTime":810.2,"endTime":813.96,"body":"correspond with the increased pollution that all of these"},{"startTime":813.96,"endTime":817.72,"body":"folks are dealing with. So intentionally"},{"startTime":818.44,"endTime":821.72,"body":"planting trees in these neighborhoods is what is going to"},{"startTime":822.04,"endTime":825.8,"body":"really help make a difference in the communities that right now need"},{"startTime":825.8,"endTime":829.61,"body":"them most. And to give you just a kind of this number blew my"},{"startTime":829.61,"endTime":833.05,"body":"mind a little bit. And we kind of make it smaller to make it more"},{"startTime":833.05,"endTime":836.53,"body":"manageable. But according to the American Forest Tree equity"},{"startTime":836.85,"endTime":840.57,"body":"map, in order for all census blocks in Bexar county, to achieve tree"},{"startTime":840.57,"endTime":844.41,"body":"equity, we need to plant over 1.8 million trees. And that is if we do"},{"startTime":844.41,"endTime":847.85,"body":"not lose a single tree until we get this planted. In the city of San"},{"startTime":847.85,"endTime":850.93,"body":"Antonio alone, it's over 1.5 million trees."},{"startTime":851.49,"endTime":855.03,"body":"So that we focus on census blocks that have"},{"startTime":855.11,"endTime":858.71,"body":"a tree equity score of 75 or lower. And that's,"},{"startTime":858.71,"endTime":862.51,"body":"you know, about 275,000 trees, which is, you"},{"startTime":862.51,"endTime":866.31,"body":"know, more, it gives us a little bit more you know, perspective to narrow down"},{"startTime":866.31,"endTime":870.03,"body":"because that 1.5 million number is so large. But"},{"startTime":870.03,"endTime":873.35,"body":"it also hits home the point that it's going to take all of us, right,"},{"startTime":873.35,"endTime":876.23,"body":"all of us, to municipalities, government,"},{"startTime":876.55,"endTime":880.35,"body":"volunteers, other organizations that are doing great work around tree canopy,"},{"startTime":880.35,"endTime":884.08,"body":"which there are several, which is amazing to really, you know,"},{"startTime":884.08,"endTime":887.76,"body":"make that impact. But if we don't know, you know, really the"},{"startTime":887.76,"endTime":891.0,"body":"reality of what we're living in, then how do we know what our goals should"},{"startTime":891.0,"endTime":894.68,"body":"be? Well, and I don't know that you have a sense or"},{"startTime":894.68,"endTime":898.36,"body":"not, but, you know, is tree planting at"},{"startTime":898.36,"endTime":902.16,"body":"all keeping up with that rate? You know, as in"},{"startTime":902.56,"endTime":905.96,"body":"relationship with the city of San Antonio, for example, I know the city has tree"},{"startTime":905.96,"endTime":909.76,"body":"planting plans. And do you feel like we're very much"},{"startTime":909.76,"endTime":913.52,"body":"so underwater today in our ability"},{"startTime":913.6,"endTime":917.32,"body":"to hit that number that we need to, or does there need"},{"startTime":917.32,"endTime":920.92,"body":"to be a much greater accelerated rated rate of how many"},{"startTime":920.92,"endTime":924.6,"body":"trees are getting in the ground every single day, every single month and"},{"startTime":924.6,"endTime":928.16,"body":"year right now? My view, of course, would be the second,"},{"startTime":928.32,"endTime":932.12,"body":"right. I have a tagline on my email that the best time to plant"},{"startTime":932.12,"endTime":935.88,"body":"a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now. So"},{"startTime":935.88,"endTime":939.52,"body":"the more that we can collaborate not only with the city of San Antonio, but"},{"startTime":939.52,"endTime":943.28,"body":"we serve, you know, all of the Alamo Area Council of Government."},{"startTime":943.52,"endTime":946.92,"body":"So, you know, we really work with the smaller municipalities that don't have the"},{"startTime":946.92,"endTime":950.76,"body":"resources that San Antonio does. But it's going to take all of us collectively"},{"startTime":950.76,"endTime":954.6,"body":"working together because trees don't care about our man made borders, right. Their"},{"startTime":954.6,"endTime":958.32,"body":"benefits go beyond city limits. So one of our"},{"startTime":958.48,"endTime":962.06,"body":"goals is to have that more regional conversation. So an"},{"startTime":962.06,"endTime":965.9,"body":"example would be in the city of Leon Valley. The county opened"},{"startTime":965.9,"endTime":969.66,"body":"a new greenway trail along Hebner Creek. We collaborated"},{"startTime":969.66,"endTime":973.46,"body":"with Leon Valley to plant trees along the Greenway trail to"},{"startTime":973.46,"endTime":977.259,"body":"provide shade and biodiversity and food. But the story"},{"startTime":977.259,"endTime":980.82,"body":"of those trees don't end in Leon Valley, right? There's a"},{"startTime":980.82,"endTime":984.42,"body":"neighborhood in San Antonio, just south, that is in a FEMA flood"},{"startTime":984.58,"endTime":988.42,"body":"zone that floods. So those trees that we planted in Leon Valley, as they"},{"startTime":988.42,"endTime":991.9,"body":"grow, will mitigate all of that storm water that goes down and can"},{"startTime":991.9,"endTime":995.75,"body":"potentially impact. So our goal through education and"},{"startTime":995.75,"endTime":999.03,"body":"different programs that we want is to really have more of a regional conversation"},{"startTime":999.35,"endTime":1003.15,"body":"and have more regional collaboration and planning because you know,"},{"startTime":1003.15,"endTime":1006.83,"body":"it's going to, again, as I said, it's going to take us all well."},{"startTime":1006.83,"endTime":1010.43,"body":"And I do think that, you know, tree"},{"startTime":1010.43,"endTime":1014.23,"body":"giveaways and tree plantings, the symbol of a tree"},{"startTime":1014.23,"endTime":1018.07,"body":"and as well, the action of planting it I think is delightfully Simple."},{"startTime":1019.28,"endTime":1022.4,"body":"But of course, as you know, tree planting"},{"startTime":1022.96,"endTime":1026.8,"body":"can be a bit more complex, starting with, you know, location, as you"},{"startTime":1026.8,"endTime":1030.56,"body":"mentioned, in the ways in which you all do that, but also species selection"},{"startTime":1031.52,"endTime":1035.2,"body":"and then of course the maintenance thereafter. And your experiences thus"},{"startTime":1035.2,"endTime":1038.72,"body":"far, what have been kind of the greatest challenges for your organization"},{"startTime":1039.36,"endTime":1043.12,"body":"in executing and sustaining the few years now into"},{"startTime":1043.12,"endTime":1046.96,"body":"the nonprofit, the success or evaluating the success of"},{"startTime":1046.96,"endTime":1050.68,"body":"the tree planting projects that you've engaged with thus far? For"},{"startTime":1050.68,"endTime":1054.32,"body":"Bear Branches alliance, we will not do a tree planting project or implement a"},{"startTime":1054.32,"endTime":1057.96,"body":"tree planting project without a three year watering schedule"},{"startTime":1057.96,"endTime":1061.76,"body":"or maintenance plan in place and funded. We live in an area,"},{"startTime":1061.76,"endTime":1064.8,"body":"you can't just plant a tree and walk away. You need to water that tree"},{"startTime":1064.8,"endTime":1068.36,"body":"to get it established for at least three years. So telling the"},{"startTime":1068.36,"endTime":1072.2,"body":"story when it comes to funding projects like Project"},{"startTime":1072.2,"endTime":1076.04,"body":"Canopy and getting the monies to ensure that we"},{"startTime":1076.04,"endTime":1079.66,"body":"are there watering those trees for three years has been a"},{"startTime":1079.66,"endTime":1083.3,"body":"challenge. Thankfully, you know, we're all of our"},{"startTime":1083.46,"endTime":1087.22,"body":"projects that are in the ground have that working with smaller municipalities"},{"startTime":1087.22,"endTime":1090.82,"body":"like Leon Valley and Castroville. Those are great collaborations"},{"startTime":1090.9,"endTime":1094.62,"body":"because we were able to get grant funding for the planting. And"},{"startTime":1094.62,"endTime":1098.14,"body":"in Castroville we were actually able to install irrigation and then hand off the"},{"startTime":1098.14,"endTime":1101.38,"body":"maintenance to their public works and parks department."},{"startTime":1102.17,"endTime":1105.97,"body":"So collaboration with projects"},{"startTime":1105.97,"endTime":1109.77,"body":"like that are ideal. However, with Project Canopy,"},{"startTime":1109.77,"endTime":1112.89,"body":"with the schools and our budget, our schools are"},{"startTime":1112.97,"endTime":1116.69,"body":"definitely going through some budgeting problems right now. We"},{"startTime":1116.69,"endTime":1120.33,"body":"need to raise funds for the watering for the"},{"startTime":1120.33,"endTime":1124.13,"body":"entire three year period. So that can be a very large price tag"},{"startTime":1124.13,"endTime":1127.85,"body":"on a program like that. Another challenge that we"},{"startTime":1127.85,"endTime":1131.13,"body":"faced is finding the our native tree species in our"},{"startTime":1131.13,"endTime":1134.93,"body":"nurseries. We want to make sure that we include as much biodiversity in any of"},{"startTime":1134.93,"endTime":1138.65,"body":"our planting. Native biodiversity and being able to"},{"startTime":1138.65,"endTime":1142.33,"body":"source those trees, like a really great example is like bluewood"},{"startTime":1142.33,"endTime":1146.17,"body":"Condalia, amazing, small, really drought hardy, you know, wonderful"},{"startTime":1146.17,"endTime":1149.65,"body":"tree berries are very good to eat. But finding those, you know, in our"},{"startTime":1149.65,"endTime":1153.17,"body":"wholesale nurseries has been very, very hard. So really there's,"},{"startTime":1153.25,"endTime":1157.01,"body":"I mean, that's a whole nother hurdle to go. You"},{"startTime":1157.01,"endTime":1160.45,"body":"know, getting and convincing, you know, nurseries in our area to"},{"startTime":1160.83,"endTime":1164.55,"body":"source and grow our native trees because of just how"},{"startTime":1164.55,"endTime":1168.31,"body":"they were painted. Some of our trees have really bad reputations,"},{"startTime":1168.31,"endTime":1172.07,"body":"which they shouldn't have. And it's just all these myths about the trees."},{"startTime":1172.07,"endTime":1175.91,"body":"So there's overcoming that and that's just really through conversation and"},{"startTime":1175.91,"endTime":1179.43,"body":"educating folks and then trying to influence"},{"startTime":1179.43,"endTime":1183.11,"body":"and ask our nurseries to really grow what"},{"startTime":1183.11,"endTime":1186.55,"body":"we're needing, especially as we look at climate change and plant"},{"startTime":1186.55,"endTime":1190.27,"body":"migration. That's so Interesting because as you"},{"startTime":1190.27,"endTime":1193.99,"body":"know, I'm a native plant enthusiast and we do have great native nurseries"},{"startTime":1193.99,"endTime":1197.31,"body":"here in town. Pollinators Northwest"},{"startTime":1197.31,"endTime":1201.07,"body":"Converse, Texas actually, and then the Nectar Bar kind of"},{"startTime":1201.07,"endTime":1204.87,"body":"closer to that Leon Valley boundary, but I think still San Antonio. But"},{"startTime":1204.87,"endTime":1208.63,"body":"yeah, it's, you know, I bought a blue one, bluewood candelia from"},{"startTime":1209.11,"endTime":1212.87,"body":"Donald Gerber at Pollinatives and they had four in stock. You know, so you can't"},{"startTime":1212.87,"endTime":1216.36,"body":"really do a large scale planting project when it's like, oh, I got"},{"startTime":1216.44,"endTime":1219.72,"body":"eight of these trees, great trees, great native trees"},{"startTime":1220.2,"endTime":1223.96,"body":"in stock. And so that's a whole different"},{"startTime":1223.96,"endTime":1227.4,"body":"kind of problem of industry that you'll need to"},{"startTime":1228.36,"endTime":1231.96,"body":"figure out how to work around. I suppose the great news about that though is"},{"startTime":1231.96,"endTime":1235.56,"body":"there is a professor in Florida that figured out how to do that there."},{"startTime":1235.96,"endTime":1239.44,"body":"So we have a pathway, like we have an example, right, of what works that"},{"startTime":1239.44,"endTime":1241.84,"body":"maybe be implemented here. So hope."},{"startTime":1243.12,"endTime":1246.92,"body":"Well, I mean, before we move on and we can delve"},{"startTime":1246.92,"endTime":1250.52,"body":"a little bit into the details, especially as I know there's just homeowners who are"},{"startTime":1250.52,"endTime":1254.28,"body":"going to be, you know, watching this or listening to this, what are some"},{"startTime":1254.28,"endTime":1257.8,"body":"of the species? And this is not necessarily needed for a large scale project. But"},{"startTime":1257.8,"endTime":1261.52,"body":"if someone was looking, you know, to plant a new tree in what would otherwise"},{"startTime":1261.52,"endTime":1264.04,"body":"be just a plain lawn perhaps, and I see a lot of those in San"},{"startTime":1264.04,"endTime":1266.88,"body":"Antonio, so there's a lot of opportunity for it. What might be some of the,"},{"startTime":1267.14,"endTime":1270.86,"body":"you know, a handful of species that in your experience thus far you'd recommend would"},{"startTime":1270.86,"endTime":1274.5,"body":"be good choices for people to look for their nurseries, you know, rainbow"},{"startTime":1274.5,"endTime":1278.26,"body":"gardens, the nectar bar pollinators, they only need one"},{"startTime":1278.26,"endTime":1281.62,"body":"of them. So I think that it would be really"},{"startTime":1281.78,"endTime":1285.54,"body":"important to understand people's goals when it comes to planting their trees."},{"startTime":1286.58,"endTime":1290.14,"body":"So a really beautiful tree that is fruit that produces"},{"startTime":1290.14,"endTime":1293.97,"body":"delicious fruit is the Texas persimmon. It's my favorite native. But that's"},{"startTime":1293.97,"endTime":1297.69,"body":"like a smaller, you know, smaller species tree. If you're looking for something"},{"startTime":1297.69,"endTime":1301.33,"body":"that provides a lot of shade to save energy, then like a"},{"startTime":1301.33,"endTime":1305.13,"body":"Mexican white oak or a Texas fallam or cedar elm would"},{"startTime":1305.13,"endTime":1308.969,"body":"be great. But it's really, you know, it depends on what your goals are as"},{"startTime":1308.969,"endTime":1312.37,"body":"a homeowner. How much space you have is really important as well."},{"startTime":1312.77,"endTime":1315.49,"body":"And then, you know, what kind of tree do you want? Do you want something"},{"startTime":1315.49,"endTime":1318.93,"body":"that doesn't drop its leaves? Do you want something that flowers? Do you want something"},{"startTime":1318.93,"endTime":1322.58,"body":"that you can, you know, harvest from? And I think there also is a lot"},{"startTime":1322.58,"endTime":1326.34,"body":"of education that can be shared around our native Trees and what we can"},{"startTime":1326.34,"endTime":1329.42,"body":"harvest, like mesquite, you know, you can eat the beans. There's so many"},{"startTime":1330.06,"endTime":1333.74,"body":"things that you can do with acorns, ratamas, you know, things"},{"startTime":1333.74,"endTime":1337.3,"body":"like that. So there is a really great resource from the Texas Forest"},{"startTime":1337.3,"endTime":1340.38,"body":"Service. It's called their tree selector app that you can go in"},{"startTime":1340.94,"endTime":1344.78,"body":"and you can, you know, put in your needs and it will suggest native trees"},{"startTime":1344.78,"endTime":1348.58,"body":"for years of code that would benefit or like be right for. For what"},{"startTime":1348.58,"endTime":1352.05,"body":"your goals are, your house. You know, broadly, like with kind of broad"},{"startTime":1352.05,"endTime":1355.49,"body":"strokes. The solutions to this sort of thing are loss of our"},{"startTime":1355.49,"endTime":1359.05,"body":"canopy, you know, preservation and planting. But"},{"startTime":1359.05,"endTime":1362.89,"body":"maybe from a more tactical perspective, if there's any recommendations"},{"startTime":1362.89,"endTime":1366.41,"body":"you could make, you know, of various entities, city,"},{"startTime":1366.57,"endTime":1370.09,"body":"you know, non profit, private or whatever, what do you see from"},{"startTime":1370.17,"endTime":1374.01,"body":"your vantage as to, you know, what San Antonio could be, you know, doing"},{"startTime":1374.01,"endTime":1377.57,"body":"more of, less of what have you to really"},{"startTime":1377.89,"endTime":1381.69,"body":"get a handle on the decline of our tree"},{"startTime":1381.69,"endTime":1385.25,"body":"canopy here. There are a lot of good things happening in the region,"},{"startTime":1385.33,"endTime":1388.89,"body":"but they're happening in silos. And I think that there is an"},{"startTime":1388.89,"endTime":1391.17,"body":"opportunity for more"},{"startTime":1392.37,"endTime":1395.57,"body":"exposure to what groups are doing and more"},{"startTime":1395.57,"endTime":1398.37,"body":"collaboration as far as like how"},{"startTime":1399.33,"endTime":1402.9,"body":"we are all making the broader impact. Because at the end of the day"},{"startTime":1403.3,"endTime":1405.46,"body":"we all have the same, you know, a lot of us have the same goals,"},{"startTime":1405.46,"endTime":1408.38,"body":"especially when it comes to trees, right. We want to preserve our canopy and we"},{"startTime":1408.38,"endTime":1412.1,"body":"want to expand it, but there are many different avenues"},{"startTime":1412.18,"endTime":1416.02,"body":"that are being taken. So parks does their tree adoptions, which"},{"startTime":1416.02,"endTime":1419.78,"body":"is great, we're getting some of those trees and hosting one on"},{"startTime":1419.78,"endTime":1423.14,"body":"Saturday and they have an equity program where they are going to"},{"startTime":1423.54,"endTime":1426.98,"body":"communities and they're planting trees. There are other nonprofit"},{"startTime":1426.98,"endTime":1430.58,"body":"organizations like Bear Branches alliance that are also meeting the need"},{"startTime":1430.58,"endTime":1433.87,"body":"and working with their direct neighborhoods to"},{"startTime":1434.11,"endTime":1437.79,"body":"expand their canopy. Whether it be tree adoptions or planting"},{"startTime":1437.79,"endTime":1441.55,"body":"in schools like we do, but in a different way. So I think there is"},{"startTime":1441.55,"endTime":1445.19,"body":"a lot of really great work that's happening. I think that there"},{"startTime":1445.19,"endTime":1448.99,"body":"is an opportunity for more conversation and collaboration around"},{"startTime":1448.99,"endTime":1451.95,"body":"the work and how we can complement each other."},{"startTime":1452.59,"endTime":1456.03,"body":"Because this is not a competition, right. We have so many trees to plant together."},{"startTime":1456.67,"endTime":1460.51,"body":"Now I'd love to hear, as you mentioned in passing, a"},{"startTime":1460.51,"endTime":1464.1,"body":"number of bare branches programs that you all"},{"startTime":1464.1,"endTime":1467.74,"body":"engage in on a day to day and annual basis."},{"startTime":1467.9,"endTime":1471.42,"body":"Let's start first with one you've already mentioned, Project Canopy."},{"startTime":1471.9,"endTime":1475.46,"body":"Very interested in that one and I'm definitely self interested. Our house is"},{"startTime":1475.46,"endTime":1477.58,"body":"technically in Northside ISD"},{"startTime":1478.78,"endTime":1482.18,"body":"residence, so with a about to be"},{"startTime":1482.18,"endTime":1485.66,"body":"24 year old myself, you know, we're always thinking about schools for the future, but"},{"startTime":1485.82,"endTime":1488.93,"body":"yeah, let's start there and then you can share what else y' all are working"},{"startTime":1488.93,"endTime":1492.41,"body":"in. So Project Canopy was actually based on a"},{"startTime":1492.41,"endTime":1496.25,"body":"planting we did with, I did with Friends of Norfolk's environment. We"},{"startTime":1496.25,"endTime":1500.01,"body":"planted at two schools and really connected with an"},{"startTime":1500.01,"endTime":1503.649,"body":"elementary school teacher there to learn, like, how much"},{"startTime":1503.649,"endTime":1507.29,"body":"more holistic the planting could be from the student experience and from an"},{"startTime":1507.29,"endTime":1511.05,"body":"educational opportunity. So when we formed in July of"},{"startTime":1511.05,"endTime":1514.89,"body":"2021 and met Isaac Esquivel, who is the"},{"startTime":1514.89,"endTime":1518.69,"body":"environmental education teacher at Northside in October of 21,"},{"startTime":1519.28,"endTime":1523.04,"body":"and he had taken over from the amazing Kent Page, who"},{"startTime":1523.04,"endTime":1526.8,"body":"retired, who started a program in Northside ISD called Project Acorn."},{"startTime":1527.36,"endTime":1530.8,"body":"And so Acorn started trees from acorns he would"},{"startTime":1530.8,"endTime":1534.48,"body":"collect. And we as an organization really wanted"},{"startTime":1534.48,"endTime":1538.16,"body":"to do large scale plantings and start making a difference."},{"startTime":1538.32,"endTime":1542.16,"body":"So initially we approached parks with"},{"startTime":1542.72,"endTime":1546.38,"body":"some ideas for plantings within parks, but at"},{"startTime":1546.38,"endTime":1549.94,"body":"that time, the. The bond had just passed, so"},{"startTime":1550.1,"endTime":1553.46,"body":"planting in parks was not an option for us. So that's why we shifted to"},{"startTime":1553.46,"endTime":1557.06,"body":"the school districts and started to build a relationship with"},{"startTime":1557.06,"endTime":1560.82,"body":"Northside. So Project Canopy turned into a"},{"startTime":1560.82,"endTime":1564.62,"body":"tree planting project. We initially identified 10"},{"startTime":1564.62,"endTime":1568.14,"body":"schools as our pilot. And all of these schools were high risk in Heat"},{"startTime":1568.14,"endTime":1571.65,"body":"island, social vulnerability and equity. Out of the 10"},{"startTime":1571.65,"endTime":1575.29,"body":"schools, we were given permission to start with five to see how it goes,"},{"startTime":1575.29,"endTime":1578.97,"body":"because, you know, we're new and needed to have proof in the pudding."},{"startTime":1580.01,"endTime":1583.53,"body":"So we created a program in"},{"startTime":1583.93,"endTime":1587.65,"body":"collaboration with Northside and got funding to plant"},{"startTime":1587.65,"endTime":1591.21,"body":"the trees. So how the program works is before"},{"startTime":1591.29,"endTime":1595.05,"body":"we launched Canopy for the five schools that were selected, we had a"},{"startTime":1595.05,"endTime":1598.87,"body":"logo contest. And so we chose the. There"},{"startTime":1598.87,"endTime":1602.59,"body":"was a fifth grader from Mead elementary that was the official artist for our"},{"startTime":1602.59,"endTime":1606.35,"body":"logo. And that really started to get the students involved. So"},{"startTime":1606.35,"endTime":1610.03,"body":"after the logo contest, then we let them know what species of trees were being"},{"startTime":1610.03,"endTime":1613.55,"body":"planted. So the students actually researched facts about the trees"},{"startTime":1613.87,"endTime":1617.55,"body":"that ended up being printed on tree ID tags in both English and Spanish"},{"startTime":1617.55,"endTime":1621.15,"body":"that live on the trees still so the next generation can go"},{"startTime":1621.15,"endTime":1624.38,"body":"and learn about the tree. Then we collaborated"},{"startTime":1624.86,"endTime":1628.22,"body":"through a grant from American Forest with American Youth Works, which is part of the"},{"startTime":1628.22,"endTime":1632.06,"body":"Texas Conservation Corps, to actually plant the trees at the schools."},{"startTime":1632.06,"endTime":1635.9,"body":"Because at that point, I was the only staff at Bear Branches. This"},{"startTime":1635.9,"endTime":1639.7,"body":"collaboration was mutually beneficial because it provided,"},{"startTime":1639.7,"endTime":1642.74,"body":"of course, me the staff I needed to lead the student groups. But it also"},{"startTime":1642.74,"endTime":1646.5,"body":"gave the folks from American Youth Works leadership opportunities,"},{"startTime":1646.5,"endTime":1650.09,"body":"which is part of their workforce development. So we taught"},{"startTime":1650.09,"endTime":1653.33,"body":"them how to plant trees and then taught them how to teach the students to"},{"startTime":1653.33,"endTime":1657.17,"body":"plant trees. And so the day of they led, about 850 students were"},{"startTime":1657.17,"endTime":1660.69,"body":"involved in the planting on these five campuses. All the fourth and fifth grade students"},{"startTime":1660.69,"endTime":1664.21,"body":"were there that day. So they led the student groups and the students actually planted"},{"startTime":1664.21,"endTime":1667.77,"body":"the trees. After the trees were planted, they measured"},{"startTime":1667.93,"endTime":1671.53,"body":"the circumference of the tree and the height. They reported"},{"startTime":1671.61,"endTime":1675.41,"body":"that to the globe program, which is a citizen science program run by"},{"startTime":1675.41,"endTime":1679.19,"body":"NASA and noaa. We also maintain GIS location"},{"startTime":1679.19,"endTime":1682.99,"body":"for each tree and species and monitor that year after"},{"startTime":1682.99,"endTime":1686.59,"body":"year. The goal of the survival rate on these schools"},{"startTime":1686.59,"endTime":1689.71,"body":"is 80%. We're right now at about"},{"startTime":1689.71,"endTime":1691.67,"body":"91%. And we just celebrated"},{"startTime":1692.87,"endTime":1696.71,"body":"Esparza Elementary, Meade elementary and Driggers Elementary."},{"startTime":1696.71,"endTime":1699.91,"body":"Two full years in the ground. And really"},{"startTime":1700.55,"endTime":1704.32,"body":"the main what led to mortality was landscaper disease."},{"startTime":1704.64,"endTime":1708.16,"body":"So each year the students, the next fifth grade class"},{"startTime":1708.16,"endTime":1711.92,"body":"goes and they inventory the trees, they do the circumference and the"},{"startTime":1711.92,"endTime":1715.2,"body":"height report that. And then we were able to"},{"startTime":1715.76,"endTime":1719.48,"body":"enroll these schools in the Arbor Day foundations tree Campus K"},{"startTime":1719.48,"endTime":1723.32,"body":"through 12. So every year we celebrate Arbor Day at these schools."},{"startTime":1723.32,"endTime":1727.12,"body":"They raise their Arbor Day flag and yeah,"},{"startTime":1727.2,"endTime":1730.88,"body":"we're just continuing the education and creating hopefully"},{"startTime":1730.88,"endTime":1734.52,"body":"tree steers as we go. We were also featured in Green Schoolyards"},{"startTime":1734.52,"endTime":1738.24,"body":"America, their green schoolyards program, which highlights"},{"startTime":1738.32,"endTime":1741.76,"body":"planting, you know, schoolyard forests throughout the"},{"startTime":1742.08,"endTime":1745.76,"body":"country. So that was a really great opportunity. Our goal this"},{"startTime":1745.76,"endTime":1749.28,"body":"year is to expand to 10 more campuses that are high risk in the data"},{"startTime":1749.44,"endTime":1753.12,"body":"that we that we use and planting a thousand trees."},{"startTime":1753.53,"endTime":1757.13,"body":"Our first round of canopy schools, we were actually able to hire one of the"},{"startTime":1757.13,"endTime":1760.85,"body":"American youth works folks that helped us plant the trees full time"},{"startTime":1760.85,"endTime":1764.25,"body":"to water those trees. So she's with us until February of 2027."},{"startTime":1764.57,"endTime":1768.33,"body":"Excellent. And so five campuses, 10 new"},{"startTime":1768.33,"endTime":1772.09,"body":"campuses, 15 total, aspirationally, at the end of. This year,"},{"startTime":1772.09,"endTime":1775.13,"body":"at the end of the. School year, at the end of the school year. I"},{"startTime":1775.13,"endTime":1778.95,"body":"think that that's an incredible success story. Just"},{"startTime":1779.74,"endTime":1783.38,"body":"especially when it seems like the barrier is, you know, first and foremost, finding the"},{"startTime":1783.38,"endTime":1787.02,"body":"places that you're allowed to plant trees. And I'm"},{"startTime":1787.02,"endTime":1790.38,"body":"sure, you know, no matter the district, we can pass a lot of schoolyards. I"},{"startTime":1790.38,"endTime":1794.1,"body":"know I do driving throughout San Antonio, just absolutely scorched"},{"startTime":1794.1,"endTime":1797.94,"body":"lawns. My wife grew up in Texas, recalling so"},{"startTime":1797.94,"endTime":1801.58,"body":"many days in which even then, you know, that"},{"startTime":1801.58,"endTime":1804.7,"body":"she couldn't go out to recess because it was just too hot."},{"startTime":1805.82,"endTime":1809.54,"body":"And so it feels like planting more trees on schoolyards"},{"startTime":1809.54,"endTime":1813.28,"body":"is an absolute no brainer. Why was"},{"startTime":1813.28,"endTime":1816.96,"body":"that project or why was that fit? You know, with northside"},{"startTime":1816.96,"endTime":1820.68,"body":"or whomever the various partners involved. Why did that make so much"},{"startTime":1820.68,"endTime":1824.44,"body":"sense in work, and how might that be replicated elsewhere? It was"},{"startTime":1824.44,"endTime":1828.04,"body":"successful because it really Covid brought out"},{"startTime":1828.92,"endTime":1832.04,"body":"a big need, Having to take the students outside to do"},{"startTime":1832.12,"endTime":1835.96,"body":"educational work. There was no shade, so it was really"},{"startTime":1836.12,"endTime":1839.64,"body":"one of the schools too, I think, had less than 20 trees on the entire"},{"startTime":1839.64,"endTime":1843.33,"body":"campus. And these campuses are massive. So as"},{"startTime":1843.33,"endTime":1847.17,"body":"far as project canopy and the ability to replicate it, that's what we've worked"},{"startTime":1847.17,"endTime":1850.69,"body":"with northside to do. So the first year, we got grant"},{"startTime":1850.69,"endTime":1854.53,"body":"funding to have a truck and a water trailer and then someone to manually"},{"startTime":1854.53,"endTime":1858.29,"body":"water the trees each week. Now it's developed"},{"startTime":1858.29,"endTime":1862.13,"body":"into irrigation, which is more efficient watering and of"},{"startTime":1862.13,"endTime":1865.13,"body":"course, lessens our carbon footprint because we don't have a truck and a trailer and"},{"startTime":1865.13,"endTime":1868.43,"body":"a little motor on a trailer with all the emissions. But that also"},{"startTime":1869.23,"endTime":1872.95,"body":"comes with barriers and challenges, too. This program could be"},{"startTime":1872.95,"endTime":1876.75,"body":"easily replicated. I feel like Isaac is kind of a unicorn. Not every"},{"startTime":1876.75,"endTime":1880.55,"body":"school district in San Antonio has an environmental education teacher. And"},{"startTime":1880.55,"endTime":1884.39,"body":"he has specific. He specifically does curriculum for"},{"startTime":1884.39,"endTime":1887.71,"body":"fifth grade students. Northside has 83 schools, I believe"},{"startTime":1887.79,"endTime":1891.47,"body":"elementary schools that he goes to once a year. So"},{"startTime":1892.03,"endTime":1895.66,"body":"for other school districts that don't have someone in that"},{"startTime":1895.66,"endTime":1899.3,"body":"position, There are some great resources through planet"},{"startTime":1899.3,"endTime":1902.9,"body":"learning tree that we can use to supplement the curriculum. If the school districts"},{"startTime":1902.9,"endTime":1906.66,"body":"don't have any curriculum currently available or have the ability to"},{"startTime":1906.82,"endTime":1910.5,"body":"incorporate a new curriculum for their staff. So"},{"startTime":1910.58,"endTime":1914.02,"body":"our goal is to lessen the load"},{"startTime":1914.26,"endTime":1917.54,"body":"of the staff. We know our teachers are very"},{"startTime":1917.7,"endTime":1921.3,"body":"overutilized and under resourced. So it's important that"},{"startTime":1921.9,"endTime":1925.3,"body":"every school that we plant, it is a collaboration with not only the district, but"},{"startTime":1925.3,"endTime":1929.1,"body":"the principal. And then the day of planting, you know, getting the teachers and students"},{"startTime":1929.1,"endTime":1932.9,"body":"involved with not adding any more burden to their already heavy"},{"startTime":1932.9,"endTime":1936.7,"body":"load. Well, I mean, there's"},{"startTime":1936.7,"endTime":1940.38,"body":"so much that we could go into in that project alone. But let's hear more"},{"startTime":1940.78,"endTime":1944.54,"body":"about what y' all do throughout the year and maybe with"},{"startTime":1944.54,"endTime":1948.34,"body":"that, suggestions for how it's best for people to get involved and engaged if"},{"startTime":1948.34,"endTime":1952.03,"body":"they're interested in the bear branches alliance and taking their part"},{"startTime":1952.03,"endTime":1955.31,"body":"to both expand and preserve San"},{"startTime":1955.31,"endTime":1958.91,"body":"Antonio's greater area tree canopy."},{"startTime":1959.07,"endTime":1962.75,"body":"So ways to get involved with bear branches alliance, There are"},{"startTime":1962.75,"endTime":1966.43,"body":"many. Our program season typically runs from"},{"startTime":1966.43,"endTime":1970.11,"body":"October through May. June, we take the summer off because"},{"startTime":1970.11,"endTime":1973.55,"body":"the trees need it and so do we. Our tree bed citizen forester. If you're"},{"startTime":1973.55,"endTime":1977.11,"body":"really interested in learning how to preserve your trees at your home, preserve trees in"},{"startTime":1977.11,"endTime":1980.03,"body":"park. So if you don't have a tree at your house, you can still make"},{"startTime":1980.03,"endTime":1983.71,"body":"an impact on our urban canopy. We have certified arborists that train"},{"startTime":1983.71,"endTime":1987.55,"body":"volunteers how to safely use professional tools"},{"startTime":1987.55,"endTime":1991.15,"body":"to prune trees and then how to safely prune the tree for"},{"startTime":1991.15,"endTime":1994.67,"body":"yourself. And of course, we want to prune the tree and leave it"},{"startTime":1994.67,"endTime":1998.43,"body":"healthy. So we teach both canopy pruning as well as base"},{"startTime":1998.43,"endTime":2002.23,"body":"pruning. A lot of times trees are planted incorrectly, so we'll teach"},{"startTime":2002.39,"endTime":2005.94,"body":"you how to extend expose the root flare, which is essentially where the tree"},{"startTime":2005.94,"endTime":2009.74,"body":"breeds, and then any girdling roots will teach you how to prune"},{"startTime":2009.74,"endTime":2013.46,"body":"those. So the reciprocity of the events, you're helping"},{"startTime":2013.46,"endTime":2017.26,"body":"our trees in our public spaces while gaining knowledge for you to take"},{"startTime":2017.26,"endTime":2020.46,"body":"home and care for your trees. As far as tree planting"},{"startTime":2020.46,"endTime":2024.18,"body":"programs, I would check out our events calendar. We have"},{"startTime":2024.26,"endTime":2028.06,"body":"projects that are waiting in the wings for funding, and as soon"},{"startTime":2028.06,"endTime":2031.77,"body":"as we get that funding, we'll post"},{"startTime":2031.77,"endTime":2035.09,"body":"the event and ask folks to come out. And then if you just want to"},{"startTime":2035.09,"endTime":2038.61,"body":"learn more about trees, you can also join one of our tree trail"},{"startTime":2038.61,"endTime":2041.37,"body":"treks. They are free educational walks through"},{"startTime":2041.93,"endTime":2045.57,"body":"parks. We're currently training. Our first ever tree"},{"startTime":2045.57,"endTime":2049.21,"body":"guide cohort actually is launching. So we are"},{"startTime":2049.21,"endTime":2052.81,"body":"training volunteers to teach them how to"},{"startTime":2053.05,"endTime":2056.73,"body":"speak about trees in whatever vein they would like. So if their approach"},{"startTime":2057.36,"endTime":2061.08,"body":"to a tree is just, you know, how it's important to the"},{"startTime":2061.08,"endTime":2064.76,"body":"native pollinators in the region, then they can do a tree talk on that. If"},{"startTime":2064.76,"endTime":2068.36,"body":"they want to talk about how trees interact with geology, there's that"},{"startTime":2068.36,"endTime":2071.92,"body":"option. So really excited to have those graduates"},{"startTime":2072.24,"endTime":2076.0,"body":"next year. You know, take some folks and have some walks and talk trees."},{"startTime":2076.72,"endTime":2080.36,"body":"And then we have annual opportunities to get involved"},{"startTime":2080.36,"endTime":2084.019,"body":"as well. We're hosting our second annual Trees and 20 Torque. It's a"},{"startTime":2084.019,"endTime":2087.739,"body":"community car show that brings attention to our poor"},{"startTime":2087.739,"endTime":2091.539,"body":"air quality while reaching out to communities that we typically don't,"},{"startTime":2091.539,"endTime":2095.179,"body":"as environmental groups do. But we will host a tree adoption and"},{"startTime":2095.179,"endTime":2098.819,"body":"really promote trees as air mechanics and shade mechanics and"},{"startTime":2098.819,"endTime":2102.619,"body":"really celebrate what they do and how they contribute to our communities."},{"startTime":2103.179,"endTime":2106.979,"body":"And then we host a regional urban forestry conference where we"},{"startTime":2106.979,"endTime":2110.8,"body":"bring national, statewide, you know, science"},{"startTime":2111.28,"endTime":2114.8,"body":"news about trees that is regionally"},{"startTime":2114.8,"endTime":2118.64,"body":"relevant every year. So we'll have our fourth annual in March, and then we'll also"},{"startTime":2118.64,"endTime":2122.24,"body":"host our annual 5K. And that raises much needed"},{"startTime":2122.32,"endTime":2125.6,"body":"core mission support to keep small organizations and any organization"},{"startTime":2125.6,"endTime":2129.4,"body":"essentially afloat. So we are partnering with Arboretum San"},{"startTime":2129.4,"endTime":2132.88,"body":"Antonio to host that out there again this year. Great."},{"startTime":2132.96,"endTime":2136.6,"body":"And I'm sure there's as well, opportunities to donate if people are"},{"startTime":2136.6,"endTime":2140.34,"body":"interested. Is that just done through the website? It is, yes. Okay."},{"startTime":2140.34,"endTime":2144.1,"body":"And that's bear branchesalliance.com it's bearbranches.org"},{"startTime":2144.34,"endTime":2147.94,"body":"yeah. All right. Well, Jackie, thank you so much for taking the time with"},{"startTime":2147.94,"endTime":2151.74,"body":"me. I'm sure you'll see me out there at some of those events to"},{"startTime":2151.74,"endTime":2155.34,"body":"come. And thanks for sharing your experience and expertise. Thank you for the"},{"startTime":2155.34,"endTime":2159.1,"body":"opportunity. All right, y', all, that"},{"startTime":2159.1,"endTime":2162.74,"body":"was Jackie Randall, executive director of the Bear Branches Alliance."},{"startTime":2162.9,"endTime":2166.7,"body":"Thanks to Jackie for taking the time and for the work that she and"},{"startTime":2166.7,"endTime":2169.58,"body":"her team are doing across Bexar County."},{"startTime":2170.22,"endTime":2173.98,"body":"What stuck with me? Trees aren't just nice to have their infrastructure."},{"startTime":2174.14,"endTime":2177.9,"body":"They shape how hot it gets, how clean our air is, how our"},{"startTime":2177.9,"endTime":2181.58,"body":"neighborhoods feel to live in. And addressing that at"},{"startTime":2181.58,"endTime":2185.1,"body":"scale is going to take all of us, our city, nonprofits,"},{"startTime":2185.42,"endTime":2189.02,"body":"neighbors, all working together. That's the kind of coordination that San"},{"startTime":2189.02,"endTime":2192.7,"body":"Antonio is still figuring out. But I think we are on our way."},{"startTime":2193.34,"endTime":2196.98,"body":"This episode was made possible with support from Geekdom and Westin"},{"startTime":2196.98,"endTime":2200.82,"body":"Urban. We're grateful for their continued investment in San Antonio and"},{"startTime":2200.82,"endTime":2204.66,"body":"our region. We publish two newsletters every single week, My"},{"startTime":2204.66,"endTime":2208.46,"body":"San Antonio Something and Bob Rivard's Monday Musings. If you want to stay"},{"startTime":2208.46,"endTime":2211.1,"body":"connected to what's happening in the city, sign up for either"},{"startTime":2211.1,"endTime":2214.66,"body":"newsletter@bigcitysmalltown.com or check the episode"},{"startTime":2214.66,"endTime":2218.14,"body":"description below. Thanks for listening to Big City Small Town."},{"startTime":2218.46,"endTime":2220.62,"body":"I'm Corey Ames. We'll see you next time."}]}