In partnership with Texas Trees Foundation and Keep Rowlett Beautiful, RETREET's goal is to plant 1,000 trees over the next few years in Rowlett, Garland and other communities hit by the Dec. 26 tornado.

Nov. 15, 2016

The day after Christmas last year, an EF4 tornado left a path of destruction through some east DFW cities, including Rowlett. Today, there are still some parts of the landscape yet to be replaced, like the hundreds of trees lost. But thanks to a Dallas-based nonprofit, starting next month, the urban forest will soon be restocked. 

RETREET was formed in January 2012 in response to the Bastrop County Complex wildfires.  

RETREET volunteersFunded through private donations, grants, corporate sponsorships, in kind donations, and awarded contracts, RETREET operates around the state and nationally through a network of volunteers.

Grady McGahan, executive director for RETREET, said no other agency is focused on the issue. 

“Of all that is lost during a disaster, trees are what will take the longest to replace. Our work makes moonscapes feel like landscape again. We bring back a sense of environmental identity to neighborhoods and make unfamiliar surroundings feel like home again. In short, Retreet was created because there was a need to be filled, and we sensed people would be interested in this work.”

In partnership with Texas Trees Foundation and Keep Rowlett Beautiful, RETREET's local tree planting will kickoff Dec. 10-11 in Rowlett, with a goal to plant 1,000 trees over the next few years in Rowlett, Garland and other communities hit by the Dec. 26 tornado.

McGahan said Rowlett residents can request trees through the organization’s webite.  From there, RETREET will send a representative to each selected home to determine the best planting place for the tree(s). 

Trees to be planted include shade trees such as maple, oak and cedar elm, he said.

In addition, McGahan said each RETREET always involves a series of events surrounding the planting, that exposes members of the community gathered from across the country to local people, places and movements with which they are likely unfamiliar. 

In conjunction with the Rowlett tree planting, RETREET is hosting a film screening of Can You Dig This? on Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Texas Theatre.

The film, hosted in partnership with Earth Day Texas as part of the TEDxSMU Film Series, features the work of Ron Finley, the world-famous Gangsta Gardener, who works to educate and empower residents of South Central LA to plant their own food. Finley will be at the screening. 

McGahan met Finley earlier this year and felt a kinship with him, he said.

“Part of our aim with Rowlett RETREET is to showcase other organizations with whom we resonate and to connect communities,” McGahan said.

Volunteers are needed for the tree planting in Rowlett. A ticket to the film is included in registration for Rowlett RETREET.

 

Rowlett RETREET

About: Community tree planting in partnership with Texas Trees Foundation and Keep Rowlett Beautiful.

When: Dec. 8-11

What: Tree planting Dec. 10-11, at Church in the City, 6005 Dalrock Rd, Rowlett.

Cost: $40. Covers food, entertainment, t-shirts and ticket to screening of Can You Dig This? on Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Texas Theatre in Dallas. Ron Finley, the world-famous Gangsta Gardener, who works to educate and empower residents of South Central LA to plant their own food, will be at the screening. Residents can request trees at no charge.

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