Keep Irving Beautiful (KIB) partnered with UPS for a community service project on Wednesday, October 5.  The fifteen UPS employee volunteers, who were joined by four North Lake College Service Learning students, gave a total of 75 hours in planting 45 native trees along the northern Campion Trails at Bird’s Fort Park.  The City of Irving Parks Department staff had prepared the area prior to the event, so the holes were dug and the trees were ready for the volunteers to plant them.  Staff members first gave instructions on prepping the roots, proper planting depth, and mulching techniques, then the volunteers divided into groups to start their work.  Several of them were interviewed by Irving Community Television Network (ICTN), who had a crew on site to capture the action.

This project was made possible by a $5,000 UPS Foundation Community Tree Planting Grant through a partnership with Keep America Beautiful, which KIB was awarded earlier this year.  This is the third consecutive year for KIB to win this grant, with the two previous grant projects being at the city’s tree farm at Mountain Creek Preserve.  This time the trees – a mix of bald cypress, bur oak and cedar elm – were planted to replace those lost in flooding of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River last year.  Many of those trees had been planted almost six years ago as part of the NFL’s “Super Grow XLV – Touchdown for Trees” initiative leading up to the North Texas Super Bowl.

“The original event back in November of 2010 was one of twelve events held in the Super Bowl host cities, and Irving was named the most outstanding for our community engagement,” said KIB and Tree Board Member Scott Wilson. “Being here at Bird’s Fort reminded me of that day, and we saw the same great volunteer spirit being demonstrated by the UPS team, as well as the college students who worked alongside them.  It was sad to lose so many trees from the flooding, so we are so grateful to the UPS Foundation for the grant funding that made this project come to life, and to the UPS volunteers who did such a great job in planting the trees.”

Keep Irving Beautiful is a non-profit, grassroots, leadership organization dedicated to educating our community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification in order to help preserve the health and promote the social and economic prosperity of our city.  To find out how you can volunteer, go to www.keepirvingbeautiful.org or call the KIB office at 972-721-2175.