A local group in Kingwood is planting trees in hopes of helping the master-planned community live up to its reputation as “The Livable Forest.”

How it started

Trees for Kingwood was established in November 2022 by a group of residents who noticed the trees in their neighborhood being compromised by invasive species, such as air potato vines, as well as ongoing development.

“As contractors and developers come in, they change the face of areas where they build homes,” board member Joyce Chambers said. “We want to make sure that the trees that are here are going to survive—to keep the forest that we want.”

The organization is a part of the Kingwood Service Association and all the board members and directors are volunteers. The organization is funded through donations from the Apache Corp., the Rotary Club of Kingwood and the Kingwood Garden Club. Chambers noted the organization works closely with Trees For Houston, and has also applied for multiple grants from different companies to continue planting trees in the community.




Chambers said the program aims to help the community be more environmentally friendly for both existing and future Kingwood residents.

“One thing we're wanting to do is promote Kingwood as a great place to live, a great place for businesses to move to,” Chambers said. “If we don't nurture what we have, [Kingwood] will not be very [environmentally] friendly for others to come in.”

How it’s going

Since 2022, Trees for Kingwood has planted just under 2,000 trees; in 2023, the group’s goal was to plant 1,000 trees.




While widespread wind damage from Hurricane Beryl impacted about 50% of trees across the Greater Houston area—per the Texas A&M Forest Service—Chambers said most of the trees impacted by Beryl were older. She added the newer trees recently planted by Trees for Kingwood were unaffected by the hurricane.

Chambers noted the organization is also working with the Texas A&M Forest Service, the U.S. Forest Service and the University of Florida to eradicate air potato vines.

Looking ahead

The organization started a new initiative in 2023 called “Students for Kingwood.” The program aims to teach students about the importance of planting trees and caring for the environment, Chambers said.




In 2023, Trees for Kingwood provided 240 seedlings to Bear Branch Elementary and has since expanded the program to other campuses throughout Humble ISD. Chambers noted Trees for Kingwood will continue the program this fall.

“We have a strong connection with teachers in the school district and the Science Olympiad is an event that they promote and we thought this would add to their curriculum and teaching students how to further the environment for their future,” Chambers said.