The new year brings fresh opportunities to make positive changes in your community. While there are many ways to start the year off right, some of our favorites are volunteering and planting native plants within the community! These plants are low maintenance, which saves resources and reduces chemical impacts, creates healthy habitats for our wildlife and pollinators, and encourages erosion control and healthy waterways. They also provide stunning natural beauty in your surroundings!
The Arbor Day Tree Giveaway and Community Tree Planting are two long-standing traditions that actively increase native plant quantities within the community while also educating residents on the importance of these trees through hands-on experience.
50th Arbor Day Tree Giveaway
At the Arbor Day Tree Giveaway, residents receive up to 12 different native tree varieties to plant in their own green spaces. In January 2026, The Woodlands celebrated the 50th Arbor Day Tree Giveaway at The Lodge at Rob Fleming Park. At this event, volunteers helped hand out over 18,000 native seedlings to community members. While picking up their seedlings, residents visited with local experts and received important information about planting their selected trees at home.
Are you interested in 2026 tree varieties? Read about the 2026 featured native seedlings and past Arbor Day Tree Giveaway events here.
12th Community Tree Planting
Two weeks after the Arbor Day Tree Giveaway, The Woodlands Township hosted the 12th Community Tree Planting at May Valley Park. This year, a section of May Valley Park was cleared of non-native plants and thick underbrush. To reforest this area, the community worked to fill it in with native trees!
On Saturday, February 14, just over 90 volunteers gathered at May Valley Park to plant 700 seedlings and 150 5-gallon containerized native trees of different varieties in the cleared space. Township staff demonstrated how to properly plant the containerized trees as well as the seedlings to ensure their ongoing health. Throughout the morning, volunteers filled this cleared space with native trees and mulched the area to help the seedlings retain water.
Increasing the number of native trees in our community is an ongoing and important cause. The Woodlands Township Forestry Division continues to monitor and manage the reforestation around the Township. Thanks to their continued efforts, our community benefits from the help of native plants!
We would also like to thank our sponsors: Howard Hughes, CenterPoint Energy, Rothco Tree Services, and Indorama Ventures. Their kind donations and hands-on effort support the continued success of these two events.
