Community restores demo and education areas to a pine and native prairie ecosystem

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - Temperatures may have started in the 70s, but by planting time had dropped to the mid 50s, giving this year's planting event a wonderful brisk kick-off.

Community Partners - ExxonMobil Development Division met for the second year on the W. Goodrich Jones State Forest to help Texas A&M Forest Service restore demonstration and education areas to a pine and native prairie ecosystem.

The prairie ecosystem was once abundant throughout Texas, but now is one of the most endangered ecosystems.

Native prairie plant seeds were collected and germinated this past summer by Mongomery County Texas Master Gardeners. Friends of Jones State Forest planted the small grasses into one-gallon containers at the Jones State Forest Native Plant Nursery on FM 1488 where they remained growing until planting day.

Nearly 40 geologists from ExxonMobil and some of their family members along side urban district forester, John Warner, his district staff and Texas Master Gardeners and Texas Master Naturalists worked to plant 10 different prairie species making up nearly 1,000 containerized plants that were placed in the ground on site of Jones Lake Recreational Area.

After lunch and planting was completed, Warner gave volunteers a special walking tour of the forest areas that recently received two new pairs of red-cockaded woodpeckers from Louisiana and how that project has received state and national attention for community and civic engagement and partnership involvement.