News Release

Big Thicket to Host Two Volunteer Planting Events this Winter

A young volunteer holds a longleaf pine seedling during a tree-planting event.

NPS Photo / Reece Paz

News Release Date: January 6, 2025

Contact: Megan Urban, 409-951-6700

KOUNTZE, Texas – Big Thicket National Preserve is excited to announce our winter planting event schedule. Volunteers can join park staff and partners to plant longleaf pine trees and native grasses in January and February in the preserve’s Big Sandy Creek Unit.

“Part of the longevity of Big Thicket is the continued work on restoring the longleaf pine savannah ecosystem, and the connection volunteers can get from seeing their work grow each year,” said Superintendent Wayne Prokopetz.

The public is invited to learn more about the preserve and stewardship with the National Park Service while planting grasses to rejuvenate the understory of the ecosystem. The events will take place on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Monday, January 20, 2025, and on Presidents’ Day on Monday, February 17, 2025.

During the events, the area surrounding the planting areas will be closed for hunting. Notices will be posted a week in advance in those locations.

Big Thicket is excited to host these events with the help of partner and friends groups including Big Thicket Association, Texas Master Naturalists, Big Thicket Natural Heritage Trust, Texas Conservation Alliance, Big Thicket Biosphere Reserve and National Parks Conservation Association.

To sign-up, volunteers can go to Volunteer.gov and search for “Big Thicket.” Once registered, information about the event, including location and paperwork, will be sent out to volunteers one week before the event. For more information, call the Big Thicket Visitor Center at 409-951-6700.

Find out more about special events and ranger programs at Big Thicket in our calendar of events.

-NPS-

Big Thicket National Preserve is in Southeast Texas, near the city of Beaumont and 75 miles northeast of Houston. The preserve consists of nine land units and six water corridors encompassing more than 113,000 acres. The Big Thicket, often referred to as a “biological crossroads,” is a transition zone between four distinct vegetation types – the moist eastern hardwood forest, the southwestern desert, the southeastern swamp, and the central prairies. Species from all these different vegetation types come together in the thicket, exhibiting a variety of vegetation and wildlife that has received global interest.