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Video: How Trees Are Powering Harvey Recovery
Replanting trees in communities in Texas after Hurricane Harvey.
August 26, 2025
When Hurricane Harvey battered the Texas Gulf Coast in August 2017, Rockport and Port Aransas took a direct hit. Winds over 130 miles per hour toppled ancient trees, tore off rooftops, and left both towns in shambles.
“The city was devastated. Streets were full of tree debris and cables down everywhere,” says Bill Green, community forester for Texas A&M Forest Service. “Either trees were broken and down or standing with not a single leaf.”
Recovery after natural disasters takes a toll on everything and everyone in the area. While the immediate focus after a disaster like Hurricane Harvey is rightly on first responders and personal safety, restoring lost tree canopy plays a vital role in long-term recovery. When communities are ready to rebuild, replanting trees is a powerful step toward renewal.
That’s when the Arbor Day Foundation stepped in, working along the Texas Gulf Coast to connect support and resources through its planting partner network — including the Texas A&M Forest Service — to help residents begin replanting. “When communities are ready to replant, it’s a step toward normalcy,” says Lachel Bradley-Williams, senior manager of community trees at the Arbor Day Foundation. “They leave with smiles and get to rebuild their future.”
For the Arbor Day Foundation, working with local partners to plant trees is about standing with impacted communities for the long haul — helping them move forward and grow stronger with each season. Since 2018, the Foundation has supported Gulf Coast communities in recovering from Hurricane Harvey, helping plant more than 7,000 trees in Rockport and Port Aransas alone. This work is made possible by our generous supporters and committed local partners who know their landscapes and communities needs. Through annual tree distributions, trees are placed directly in the hands of residents who lost them in the storm.
Rae Mooney, manager for the Port Aransas Nature Preserve, says the tree loss after Hurricane Harvey impacts so many dimensions of the local ecosystem. Port Aransas, notably, has long been a “rest stop” of sorts for birds migrating towards warmer weather in the winter months.
“We encourage people to plant for wildlife,” Mooney says. “Migrating birds need places to rest and eat, especially after losing so much habitat.”
Seven thousand trees and counting, and the recovery still isn’t complete. Canopy restoration can take decades after a hurricane as devastating as Harvey. Green says it’s important to remember that just because a disaster leaves the news headlines, doesn’t mean the important work — and the need for resources and support — is over.
“It takes years to recover,” Green emphasizes. “Each year, people keep coming back for more (trees) — they’re still trying to replace what they lost.”
