TreeFolks

Meet Ashleigh Pettus, the woman opening doors to Urban Forestry!

Hailing from the Bronx, New York, Ashleigh originally studied history and childhood education. That educator’s instinct now shapes everything she does in urban forest education, including learning the story of a place, understanding what is missing or underrepresented, and designing programs that speak to what people actually need in their lives.

For Ashleigh, conservation is not just about preserving the outdoors. It is about building a relationship with it. In her work with the City of Austin Government , she sees her title as a doorway, not a box. Her real job is urban forest youth education and engagement, helping young people picture what the urban forest is now, and what it could become with their hands, their knowledge, and their passion.

"Conservation work is community work"

That is the heart of her work: creating opportunity, opening gates, and helping young people realize there is a place for them in conservation, especially those who have rarely been invited to see themselves there.

The Mystery Creek Cottonwood stands at the spot where Mystery Creek heads north from Red Bird Lane, crossing the lot where the proposed project is sited. It is a tireless sentinel and an anchor for our forested little neighborhood. This tree has overseen the entire modern history of Deep South Austin. The aerial shots of our neighborhood clearly show the tree in existence circa 1940’s!

This beautiful heritage tree has been nominated for the Large Tree Category in the Austin Tree of the Year Awards! Nominations are open until July 24th, 2026!

Nominate your tree at: austintreeoftheyearawards.org

Our NeighbordWoods season report is live! This season, we distributed our highest number of free trees to date!

A total of 8,014 trees were distributed to residents in high priority areas, with an additional 1,257 trees distributed to communities residing outside of the Austin jurisdiction in Manor, Del Valle, Buda, Round Rock, San Marcos, and other surrounding areas.

🚚 4,974 were delivered to homes for free through our Home Delivery program
🌳2,924 were adopted by the community at our free public events
🤠 119 were distributed to local community groups, including Foundation Communities, the Islamic Center of Greater Austin, Colorado Crossings HOA, the Little Learning Grove, and St. Francis School.
🌺 48 unique species of native trees were distributed and planted in our urban forest!

Thank you to everyone who adopted a tree this season!

A special thank you to our partners at the City of Austin Government and Austin Energy for championing the program's growth and helping us meet the growing demand for trees in the city.

We also want to express our gratitude to H-E-B, one of Austin’s most generous community partners, for their ongoing support, hosting a portion of our in-person tree adoption events each year, and providing a trusted and accessible space to connect people with trees.