Fort Worth residents picked up free native plants and learned about local wildflowers and their pollinators at a Native Neighborhoods event held in September. Photos by Michelle Villafranca.

April 17, 2018

A new city of Fort Worth program aims to teach residents the benefits of native landscaping by giving them a starter kit.

Native Neighborhoods, sponsored by the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge, city of Fort Worth Park and Recreation Department’s Forestry Section and the city of Fort Worth Water Department, is giving away five free native plants, a native tree and a water conservation kit on Saturday, April 21, 2018 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to the first 50 Fort Worth residents to register online.

Registrants can then pick them up at Riverside Community Center, 3700 East Belknap Street, Fort Worth. You must have a Fort Worth address and present a copy of your city of Fort Worth water bill. One RSVP per household.

Fort Worth Native Neighborhoods ProgramNot only will these beautiful hardy Texas plants require less water and chemicals, they are naturally resistant to pests and diseases while helping butterflies, hummingbirds and bees thrive throughout the state. Because they are already adaptive to the Texas climate, require little water and are easily established, you don’t need a green thumb to grow them. 

A Native Neighborhoods information booth at Chisholm Trail Park.

The free plants are still being gathered but will likely include Mexican Hat, Little Blue Stem, American Germander and Frostweed. The trees will most likely be Red Oak or Chinquapin. The water department’s tote bag will contain, among other things, a hose nozzle and a mechanism that tells when to water your lawn.  

Michelle Villafranca, Natural Resource Specialist for the city-owned Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge, says that because not everyone makes it to the Nature Center, she and staff thought it a good idea to bring nature to Fort Worth neighborhoods.

“We actually did a trial run at Chisholm Trail Community Center in September, where about 39 people out of 50 slots took advantage of the free plants program,” she says.  

Staff had toyed with the “Native Neighborhoods” idea for some time. Villafranca formerly worked for the forestry section for the city of Fort Worth where she coordinated a tree planting program. When she transferred to Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge, her interest in urban landscaping outreach continued.  

In 2017, the executive director wrote a grant for a new greenhouse, which was awarded in 2018.  As part of that grant, Villafranca included wording that would start an outreach program. Everything fell in line, the grant was granted, and “Native Neighborhoods” was born. 

“When I transferred, one of the main things I wanted to do was start a restoration greenhouse. When I got the restoration greenhouse going – basically within five years we developed a master program – we thought this was a good time to start an outreach program,” she explains.  

The intent is to target neighborhoods around geographically spread-out Fort Worth community centers, with the Riverside Community Center event to be held in April, and possibly an event in West or North Fort Worth in September.  

Hopes are that by taking nature into neighborhoods, an awareness of pollinators, water conservation, native plants, pollinator habitat and biodiversity will be paramount.  

“Our current lawn care aesthetic is very sterile – water/mow, water/mow. I think that if we get more native plants into the community, people will pass them to neighbors, go to nurseries, buy and plant. We need to have more water conserving landscapes.”  

“Our current lawn care aesthetic is very sterile – water/mow, water/mow. I think that if we get more native plants into the community, people will pass them to neighbors, go to nurseries, buy and plant. We need to have more water conserving landscapes.”     

Native Neighborhoods

About: A city of Fort Worth program to encourage use of native plants in residential landscaping to reduce water and chemicals. The first 50 Fort Worth residents to register online will receive five free native plants, a native tree and a water conservation kit. You must have a Fort Worth address and present a copy of your city of Fort Worth water bill. One RSVP per household.

When: Pick up date is April 21, 2018, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: Riverside Community Center, 3700 East Belknap Street, Fort Worth. 

Contact: Michelle Villafranca, 817-392-7423 or michelle.villafranca@fortworthtexas.gov.

RSVP

 

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