SAN ANTONIO — The Texas Arbor Day Celebration at Mission Marquee Plaza was supposed to get underway at 9 a.m. Saturday, but early birds said the party actually started much earlier.
Patsy Inglet, who came to volunteer with Bexar Audubon Society, said "I got here this morning early, at six o'clock, and they weren't giving out trees until nine and people were already lined up and they brought chairs. They brought breakfast. They were here to help us help the habitat of San Antonio."
Inglet said she was thrilled to see so many neighbors from south San Antonio show up to support nature.
"The Audubon Society is all about birds and birds need habitat," Inglet said.
Meredith Tilley, who helped with the tree distribution, said "We always know that the south side is a wonderful place to hold events like this," adding, "we were overwhelmed with wonderful people that wanted trees today and we provided over 800 trees to better our urban canopy."
Tilley said drought, ice storms and disease have taken a heavy toll on local trees and people are anxious to help nature recover.
"I have spoken to so many people who have lost trees over the last couple of years to extreme urban heat island. Just climate change. It's been very hot and stressful for trees so our call to action is 'let's plant more trees."
Tilley said, adding the Día del Árbol event was a perfect one stop shop to both get a tree and talk to expert arborists and tree care professionals.
Katelin Darrow was one of many happy participants.
"There was a ton of people here today and I actually had to park down the block because there were so many cars," Darrow said. "I've been to Earth Day and this was like triple that."
Darrow, who walked away with a crepe myrtle and some native grasses, said the importance of growing natives can't be overstated.
"These are what they say are going to grow and that's what I want! I want a beautiful yard of plants that are natural to here and they're going to survive," Darrow said.
In addition to fun activities for kids of all ages, local nonprofits focused on nature offered a wide variety of programs.
Jaci Randel is the Executive Director of the Bexar Branches Alliance.
"We are a data driven urban forestry nonprofit dedicated to the expansion and preservation of the tree canopy throughout Bexar County," Randel said.
Randel said she was happy but not surprised by the turnout.
"I am here to celebrate trees with everyone and talk about all the amazing benefits and the importance of trees for our community," Randel said. "The data shows that the south area of San Antonio is one of the most vulnerable areas of the city due to heat island effect, social vulnerability and equity, so trees are a really good way to mitigate heat island, help clean our air and clean our water."
Randel said watching hundreds of trees going out into the community is an uplifting feeling.
"Trees are so important to not only keeping our communities healthy and keeping us cool, but they also have a lot of mental and physical benefits. Going out with nature helps lower our blood pressure and gives a sense of calm," Randel said.
Representatives from Arboretum San Antonio came to educate their new neighbors about the plan to turn the old Republic Golf Club grounds on Southeast Military Drive into a world-class sanctuary for Texas trees.
CEO Tom Corser said his group is excited about the huge potential the nearly 200-acre site represents.
"We are going through master planning now. That will be an amazing place, but not just the place, it's the idea of an arboretum that we can bring to all of San Antonio, that will make it another rich point to compliment Brooks, to compliment A&M, to compliment Mitchell Lake," Corser said.
A greener south San Antonio.
Corser said a green, peaceful oasis will be a gift that we all give to the future.
"Trees live two or 300 hundred years and there are stories that can be told of those trees, but more importantly we are planting trees that will be there for our children and our children's children to tell stories about our culture," Corser said. "So it's branching those generations of our heritage and our future generations."
There are other projects in south San Antonio, new and old, that offer a respite from the rigors of urban life.
This week the San Antonio River Authority hosted the first ever volunteer work day at a brand new 300-acre park on the San Antonio River south of Loop 410 off Blue Wing Road.
Also south of Loop 410, the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center is a delight. Board member Patsy Inglet said, "I'll tell you, everybody in the world who is a birder knows about it. People here in San Antonio need to come out because it's an awesome place to see birds all year long."
There is also a beautiful new reach of the Howard W Peak trail system at Southeast Military Drive.
The trail is aligned close to Salado Creek and connects to a well-loved reach of the trail at Southside Lions Park on Pecan Valley.
In addition to the main trail, there is a neighborhood connection under construction that will reach Emory Oak Drive that will connect hundreds of homes and thousands of people to nature.
In Padre County Park, a food forest has take root where volunteers are growing food for people and animals.
There will be a Tree Trail Trek at the site on Sunday from 1 to 3. The event is free and more information can be found on their Facebook page.
To learn more about the birds of prey demonstration at the event, visit Last Chance Forever's website.