One of our main priorities at the Center for Urban Ecology is land stewardship, which is working to conserve natural resources to support people and wildlife, both now and into the future. Below are some of our featured land stewardship projects. We hope that you will be inspired to become active stewards of our lands in the Rio Grande Valley, whether public or private, from thousands of acres to garden beds in a yard. While our focus is on stewardship in urban areas, the practices we strive to put into place can be applied to less developed land in the region as well.
NOTE: Time of year and lighting can make a big difference in how vegetation appears in the following photographs – winter months (with gray weather) tend to appear less verdant than spring and fall. Summer may be very green, but it is more dependent on how much rain the region receives.
“When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” – Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac.
Take a look at some of our current and previous projects below!
Tiny Forests: McAllen
Cathey Middle School
(10,000 sq. feet)
Installed March 3, 2023
In the spring of 2023, the CUE planted 1,800 native trees and shrubs as our first Tiny Forest in partnership with the McAllen Independent School District. This forest has experienced rapid growth, with many of the quick-growing, early successional trees now over 7-8 feet tall. The shrub layer is well-developed and has flowered extensively, providing abundant nectar sources for bees, birds, butterflies, and other pollinators. Funding for this Tiny Forest was from the Friends of Quinta Mazatlan.
Tiny Forests: McAllen
Brush, Ware Rd & Jordan Rd
(10,000 sq. feet)
Installed March 25, 2023
In the spring of 2023, we installed our second Tiny Forest, located at the corner of Ware Road and Jordan Road, near the Palm View Community Center in McAllen, Texas. Despite a record-setting summer (extreme heat and lack of rain), this Tiny Forest has continued to grow! Its shrub layer has performed excellent and is providing food for pollinators. It also has had many beneficial volunteer plants, like various wildflower species, grow on their own. Funding for this Tiny Forest came from a private donor.
Tiny Forests: McAllen
McCreery Aviation
(10,000 sq. feet)
Installed 11/17/2023
We planted this Tiny Forest in the fall of 2023. It connects with the Tiny Forest planted at Ware Road & Jordan Road intersection, which increases the amount of contiguous habitat available for wildlife as well as for people to enjoy. This Tiny Forest was funded by McCreery Aviation in McAllen, Texas.
Tiny Forests: McAllen
Quinta Mazatlan Pilot Project
(10,000 sq. feet)
Installed 9/22/2021
In the fall of 2021, the CUE planted nearly 900 native trees, shrubs, and herbs to test out the Tiny Forest method. We conduct periodic photo monitoring to document its growth over time. In the first year alone we saw many of our plants grew and bloomed, already providing habitat for wildlife. You can learn more at our Tiny Forests for People & Wildlife blog post.
Rewilding Meadows: Coyote Patch
Quinta Mazatlan, Ebony Grove
Invasive grass species are an ongoing challenge to conserving biodiversity in the Rio Grande Valley (see Leslie, Jr. 2016). In 2020 we worked on removing a patch of Guinea Grass (Megathyrsus maximus) using a mixture of hand-digging, tarping, and tilling (see this blog post for an example). We then seeded it with a mix of native grasses and wildflowers. Our management regime is to mow it two times per year, along with occasional spot checks for invasive grasses. Note that the first photo (2020-05-11) is of Guinea Grass.
Linear Forest Buffer
Quinta Mazatlan, East Canal
As part of a National Wildlife Federation grant, we received several hundred native trees, shrubs, and herbs to create habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. As a win-win, the plantings also allow us to create a buffer on the eastern side of park.
Center for Urban Ecology 