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Pharr seeks $1.7 million from Texas A&M Forestry for citywide greening; other grant options explored
Summary
City of Pharr staff updated the Keep Pharr Beautiful advisory board on a submitted $1.7 million Texas A&M community greening grant, other forestry awards and exploratory funding opportunities including H-E-B Trees for Texans and an environmental literacy grant with a research component.
PHARR, Texas — City grant staff told the Keep Pharr Beautiful advisory board on March 18 that the city submitted a Texas A&M Forest Service community greening grant that could award up to $1,700,000 for tree plantings and related staff support.
Elizabeth Diaz, the city’s director of grants, said the community greening application was submitted last week and would build off a separate Schoolyard Forestry award that is already active in local schools. "This would be community effect. So building off of that initiative," Diaz said, adding the city applied for staffing support such as a forester and coordinators to implement the project.
Diaz also said the city was included in a Region 1 regional proposal submitted by the forestry service; if Pharr does not receive the city-level award, she said, the city could still participate through Region 1 if that regional grant is funded.
The board also heard about two other grant tracks the city is exploring. Parks and recreation staff are preparing an application to the H-E-B Trees for Texans program with a May deadline, and the public health team is collaborating with Texas A&M School of Public Health on an "environmental literacy for community resilience" grant that includes a research component. Diaz described that latter opportunity as having a budget range discussed in the meeting "anywhere from a hundred to about 750, for 3 years," and said the department is evaluating feasibility and whether additional staff would be needed.
Board members and staff agreed to bring more departmental representatives into a planned workshop so the committee can offer input on program design, youth engagement and other elements before implementation steps move forward.
The board discussed next steps for public engagement and interdepartmental coordination and asked staff to report back at the April meeting with more details on staffing, specific funding lines and a plan for community outreach.
Ending: Diaz told the board the city will await reviewer decisions on the Texas A&M applications and will coordinate internally and with regional partners if awards are made. Staff said they will return with more specifics at upcoming meetings.
