Denton's urban forestry staff will give the city's parks board a progress check on Monday, Nov. 2, covering everything from tree giveaways to a citywide canopy measurement, according to a presentation posted with the meeting agenda.
Urban Forester Haywood Morgan Jr. is scheduled to brief the Parks, Recreation and Beautification Board at 6 p.m. in the Redbud Room of the Civic Center, 321 E. McKinney St. The item is a report and discussion, with no vote listed.
The numbers in the presentation
- Trees counted: 29,533 trees have been inventoried in maintained park areas, on city property and in the public right-of-way, as the 2020 Urban Forest Master Plan called for. Crews gathered the data with LiDAR and high-resolution 360-degree cameras in 2023 and 2024, and a second round is planned for 2027.
- Canopy: The city's 2024 urban tree canopy covered 23.4% of land inside the city limits.
- Plantings: About 25,000 trees have gone in over the last five years, or roughly 5,000 a year, the slides say. A separate line lists 1,157 trees planted "by end of Year."
- Master plan progress: Of the plan's 88 actions, spread across nine goals and 24 primary objectives, 52 have been completed.
Staff say the inventory helps the city track the work history on each tree, improve safety and reduce liability, and make budgeting and planting decisions based on data.
Planting work ahead
The presentation lists upcoming projects on Bell Avenue, Bonnie Brae, Cooper Creek and the South Lake Park West Trail, plus an Arbor Day event at South Lake Park. Recent work included an Arbor Day planting at Clear Creek and the annual tree giveaway.
