A North Texas non-profit is working to bring life back to neighborhoods devastated by disasters.
Retreet is a non-profit organization that works with environmental partners, arborists and city planners to develop long-term plans to restore tree growth in neighborhoods affected by disasters. They’ve planted more than 4,000 trees in communities like Moore, Oklahoma, following the May 2013 tornado outbreak and New York following Hurricane Sandy.
Organizers are working on plans to plant 1,000 trees in Rowlett and Garland after neighborhoods were devastated by tornadoes Dec. 26, 2015.
“There’s this general spirit in people to want to come down and do something physically and be part of the rebuilding process,” organizer Grady McGahan said.
McGahan started the organization with friends after planting trees in Bastrop following the 2011 wildfire.
“Through that experience we realized trees are an incredibly important part of an environmental identity of a community,” he said.
McGahan said he hopes to see the organization grow its mission and be able to provide quicker restoration of trees in barren areas.
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“We can come in and plant trees for people while they’re rebuilding, provide them a psychological boost, some psychological relief and help in the true replacement of their community," he said.
