Million Trees El Paso

Million Trees El Paso, our Tree Planting Program

Eco El Paso is proud to present our Tree Planting Program, Million Trees El Paso!

Million Trees El Paso is a program with an ambitious goal: to plant and care for at least one million new native or drought-tolerant trees across the city, starting within underserved communities throughout the El Paso region! The goal is to restore the “tree canopy cover”—the area of land shaded by trees—in the Greater El Paso, TX region and to reduce the heat island effect, while creating numerous environmental and aesthetic benefits.

Eco El Paso will fund this project through community donations, our membership program, and grant writing. We will purchase the trees for this program from local nurseries and small businesses to promote local economic development and local jobs. We will then reach out to the applicants of the program when we select their Zip Code so we can coordinate a tree planting event with the local community. Then we reach out to our Volunteers to help us plant trees and educate the homeowners on the benefits of trees and how to care for trees.  We appreciate your volunteer support and donations for this program to thrive for many years to come! 

Sign up using our application at the bottom of this website!

There are numerous benefits to trees, even in a hot desert climate like El Paso. Trees will reduce the heat island effect and reduce heat in neighborhoods across the county. Lower temperatures and shaded walking paths will encourage people to walk more, spend more time outside, and will reduce energy bills by reducing cooling costs. Lower energy bills will mean less water used by our electric utility to create electricity, less natural gas consumption by the utility, and will reduce overall pollution. Trees shade your yard or home, which reduces heat radiation that continues at night on concrete, asphalt, and rock yards after the sun goes down. Trees are aesthetically appealing, increase curb appeal when selling your home, provide habitat to nature, and provide much-needed shade in our hot-arid climate. Trees help reduce erosion, clean the air, provide biodiversity, reduce climate change, and provide food for pollinators. We only focus on native or drought-tolerant trees that will thrive in the El Paso region.

Call before you dig! Call 311 and ask the city to check before you dig.

Follow our Facebook Page for Million Trees El Paso and follow our Facebook Group for Million Trees El Paso.

Check out the Documents Below with More Research

• Tree Care
• Care & Maintenance
• Selecting Plants for Pollinators
• Mulching Your Trees - Drought Tolerance
• Benefits of Curb Cores & Water Harvesting
• El Paso Water - Chinese Pistache - Spotlight
• Arroyo Trees & Shrubs, El Paso Botanical Gardens
• Ornamental Trees & Plants

Native or Desert Friendly Trees - Examples

* Follow our friends at the West Texas Urban Forestry Council. 

• Mexican White Oak - Quercus polymorpha
• Desert Ironwood - Olneya
• Flameleaf sumac – Rhus lanceolata
• Golden Rain tree – Koelreuteria paniculata
• Goldenball leadtree – Leuceana retusa
• Texas persimmon – Diospyros texana
• Honey locust – Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis
• Mexican plum – Prunus mexicana
• Osage Orange – Maclura pomifera
• Western soapberry – Sapindus drummondii
• Mexican Elder - Alnus jorullensis
• Aleppo Pine - Pinus halepensis
• Leyland False Cypress - Cupressus x leylandii
• Western Red Cedar - Thuja plicata
• Eucalyptus
• Sweet acacia – Acacia farnesiana ‘smalli’
• Japanese pagoda – Styphnolobium japonicum
• Littleleaf Walnut – Juglans microcarpa

Parks & Trails

We often partner with the City of El Paso (El Paso Parks & Recreation) and other groups to plant trees at City Parks (Ascarate Park, Westside Community Spray Park & Dog Park, etc.) as well as hiking and biking trails like the Paso Del Norte Trail. If you would like to add trees to the existing trails or city parks across the city, contact our team and we will partner with the various entities to schedule a tree planting event.  Each event requires significant planning and fundraising so we can buy the trees, but often times we also need to raise money for proper irrigation if those funds can't be allocated by the city or other groups.  

Collaboration & Partnerships

We want to work with other nonprofits, clubs, associations, local businesses, and citizens, to support this initiative. We also want to extend our invitation to volunteers to assist us in raising funds for the tree planting program and to volunteer their time to plant trees. All donations will be tax-deductible since we're a 501(c)3 nonprofit. 

Next Steps

Fill out the application form below and let us know why you would like to nominate your community for our next Million Trees El Paso planting efforts and why you would like to be a Community Tree Advocate for your neighborhood. We look forward to hearing from you and learning more about your neighborhood.

Million Trees El Paso - Sub-Initiatives

Branches to Roots

- Learn more here

Project Overview: Native Tree Propagation and Citizen Science

This initiative focuses on propagating 150 native tree specimens using the ancient air layering technique. By encouraging branches to grow roots, these newly rooted sections can be severed from the parent plant and transplanted elsewhere to thrive as independent trees. By teaching students this method, we foster climate action, hope, and highlight the numerous benefits of trees, including carbon sequestration, urban green space restoration, and the reduction of the urban heat island effect.

#EcoElPaso #MillionTreesElPaso #BranchesToRoots