Since 2008, The University of Texas at Austin has been honored as an Arbor Day Foundation Tree Campus Higher Education. We make a commitment every year to meet five standards developed to promote healthy trees and student involvement in their campus urban forest.
Texas Arbor Day is celebrated every year on the first Friday in November with special events such as volunteer tree plantings and tree giveaways for students, faculty and staff.
In spring or early summer, we host service learning projects for campus volunteers to engage and learn about the campus landscape. Past events include Waller Creek revegetation, planting fruit trees and pollinator gardens, and mulching trees.
Contact the university urban forester jen.hrobar@austin.utexas.edu for more information.
Tree Conservation
The University of Texas at Austin values the diversity of its campus urban forest and the important role existing trees play in sustainable building efforts. This principle is reflected in the university’s sustained commitment to maintaining its designation as a Tree Campus USA with a focus on tree preservation and restoration of campus ecosystems impacted by campus construction projects. The University has an excellent track record for managing the heritage trees when new facilities are being constructed. If possible, these trees are relocated to another site on campus. Or, if it becomes necessary to harvest them, their wood is repurposed into the building near where these valuable trees once stood. For example, over a 15 year period UT Austin transplanted 55 trees with a 93% survival rate.
Below are some examples of campus building projects where tree transplants were part of the construction scope:
- Blanton Museum of Art
- Darrel K. Royal Stadium and AT&T Conference Center: This project was awarded landscape project of the year in 2007 by the Texas Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture.
- Norman Hackerman Building: This project was awarded the arboricultural project of the year in 2010 by the Texas Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture.
- William C. Powers Jr. Student Activity Center and Patton Hall
- Dell Medical School: 13 mature live oaks were successfully transplanted in 2014 to build the new medical school campus and this project achieved SITES Gold Certification.
Memorial Trees
Below is an interactive map showing all the trees dedicated to various members of the UT family. Click on a tree to see the tree photo and donor details.
Tree Inventory
Arborists with the Landscape Services branch of Facilities Services value and understand that the campus urban forest is an integral community resource, an important component of the grounds’ infrastructure, and part of the campus identity.
To support its preservation and management, UT Austin commissioned an inventory and assessment of nearly 5,000 trees on the Main Campus in 2016. Information was collected about each tree including species, size, condition, and geographic location. The data was also used to develop a detailed and quantified analysis of the current structure, function, and value of the university’s urban forest.
The tree inventory is available to view online at TreeKeeper. You can locate tree information by using the UT2016 tree tag numbers, or find trees near your location. In addition, ecosystem benefits that assign a quantity and value to pounds of carbon sequestered or energy saved are calculated for both individual trees and the urban forest as a whole.
If you have any questions about the UT Austin Tree Inventory, contact Jennifer Hrobar, Urban Forestry Supervisor, by email or at at 512-475-7753.
Campus Tree Care
UT arborists care for over 5,000 trees on the Main Campus and surrounding UT System properties. Tasks include pruning, planting, root management, inventory, plant health care, invasive tree species management and tree removal as needed. We also provide support services for protected trees on campus construction projects. For more information on proper tree care, visit the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) website.
Our team holds numerous professional credentials from the International Society of Arboriculture including Certified Tree Worker Climber Specialist, Certified Tree Worker Aerial Lift Specialist, Certified Arborist, Certified Arborist Municipal Specialist, Tree Risk Assessment Qualification, and Wildfire Risk Reduction Qualification.
Urban Forestry Team
Jennifer Hrobar
Supervisor of Urban Forestry
jen.hrobar@austin.utexas.edu
Phone: 512-475-7753
Fax: 512-471-0859
Jennifer has 17 years of experience in urban forestry and plant health care. She oversees the forestry crew in managing campus trees, coordinates the preservation and protection of trees on campus development projects, and fulfills annual requirements for UT’s designation as a Tree Campus Higher Education. She exhibits her passion for pollinators, native plants, and wildlife through her work at the UT Orchard & Pollinator Gardens, and with invasive species management and planting projects near Waller Creek. Prior to joining the university, she was a plant health care and forestry events crew leader for South Suburban Parks & Recreation in Centennial, Colorado. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in urban forestry from Texas A&M University, is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certified arborist municipal specialist and is qualified in ISA tree risk assessment.