November 9, 2025 – COLLEGE STATION, Texas—Foresters and staff members from Texas A&M Forest Service celebrated Texas Arbor Day on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, with school presentations, tree plantings and tree giveaways across the state.
Over 7,400 tree seedlings, all grown by Texas A&M Forest Service, were given to students, organizations and communities to celebrate the tree planting holiday.
Texas A&M Forest Service employees made Texas Arbor Day presentations at 29 schools and organizations. The presentations reached more than 3,800 students at campuses in Argyle, Austin, Bastrop, Coldspring, Direct, Driscoll, El Paso, Gladewater, Greenville, Justin, Livingston, Longview, Lubbock, Normangee, Palacios, Persall, Pflugerville, Port Lavaca, San Antonio, San Benito, Spring, Teague, Tyler and Weatherford.
“Texas Arbor Day is a special day to celebrate trees and the benefits they provide including improved health,” said Michelle Moore, Texas A&M Forest Service Forest Systems Department Head. “What better place to talk about the importance and value of trees than with the next generation of stewards.”
Along with presentations, staff planted 3-gallon trees on school campuses and distributed nearly two thousand Afghan, Italian stone and loblolly pine seedlings to students.
The presentations, customized to the students’ grade level, explained the life cycle of trees and the many benefits they provide to people and our economy, as well as the history of Texas Arbor Day.
Melanie Portillo, Texas A&M Forest Service Conservation Education Coordinator, said Texas Arbor Day is about more than planting trees—it serves as a reminder that we can improve our health by spending time near trees and nature.
“This year’s Texas Arbor Day theme is Healthy Trees, Healthy Lives,” said Portillo. “There’s something remarkably simple anyone can do to improve their well-being and that’s spend time near trees. Teaching students this is the best way to help them steward the trees around them for generations.”
Separately, over 5,000 Afghan pine, American elm, anacua, Austrian pine, baldcypress, bur oak, cedar elm, cherrybark oak, chinkapin oak, coastal live oak, desert willow, honeylocust, Italian stone pine, lacebark elm, Mexican buckeye, Mexican white oak, nuttall oak, osage orange, palo pinto live oak, pecan, prairie flameleaf sumac, red mulberry, shumard oak, southern magnolia, Texas ash, Texas red oak, water oak, western soapberry and willow oak seedlings were distributed at 21 Texas A&M Forest Service office tree giveaways across the state.
Texas Arbor Day partners include the Texas Forestry Association and the Texas Chapter of International Society of Arboriculture.
For details about the history of Arbor Day in Texas, visit tfsweb.tamu.edu/arborday
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