Did you notice some sticks with leaves dangling in the winter wind around the school at 1702 E. 11th Street?

Give them time! Even now, they’re putting down roots.  Over the coming years, these precious new friends will become a lush, green canopy around Blackshear Elementary School on la loma, the hilltop at the heart of our neighborhood.

You may also have noticed the City of Austin Urban Forestry trucks paying their regular visits to make sure the new trees are getting plenty of water.   Thanks PARD Foresters!

So just who are the new trees, exactly?

• A mix of 14 Chinkapin (different from Chinquapin) and Mexican or ‘Monterrey’ Oaks — some of these line the sidewalk along 11th Street
• 3 Cedar Elm, fairly fast growers near the playscapes
• 1 Mexican Sycamore, a fast grower on the northeast corner
• 1 Chalk Maple, slow grower with great fall color on the southeast corner

And a little fruit orchard on the north side of the school —

• 2 Feliciana Peach
• 1 Asian Pear
• 1 Fig Tree

Welcome New Trees!  And Thanks, Principal Jenkins, Manuel Flores, Supervisor with City of Austin’s Urban Forestry Program, Lisa Schissler, Forester for AISD, Mark Word Design, all the volunteers — teachers, parents, community members, and .   .     .  us, Blackshear Bridge for making it happen!