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WIMBERLEY RETREET II
March 25th+26th, 2017

We began to replant Wimberley, TX, in the wake of a devastating flood in January of 2016, as 33 RETREETers traveled to Wimberley from 7 states and Washington, D.C., to join 45 additional volunteers in planting 206 trees at 37 homes and 2 community parks during 8 hours of hard work. Given the success of our first event in Wimberley and the continued need for our services, we planned a second, similar event.

WIMBERLEY RETREET PLANTING GROUP (JANUARY 2016).

RETREET staff and volunteers began to arrive in Austin from as far away as Los Angeles, CA, Denver, CO, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, on Wednesday, March 22nd. Together, they accepted trees and planting supplies from our partner The Home Depot Foundation, who granted $15,000 in support of our project, readied enclosures for each tree, and delivered all materials to home sites alongside staff from Myers Concrete Construction. Our volunteers even had time to grab a beer at the weekly Tree Hugger Happy Hour at Contigo in Austin.

BRAD HAMEL FROM TEXAS A&M FOREST SERVICE VISITS WITH A RESIDENT TO MARK PROPER PLANTING LOCATIONS.

Friday evening, the full complement of RETREETers gathered in Wimberley for dinner at The Leaning Pear. It was a wonderful welcome to this lovely Texas town. The next morning, the number of volunteers swelled to 110, including 55 members of Team Depot representing 12 stores, employees of H-E-B, Boy Scouts with Troop 127, Knights of Columbus, and students from Katherine Anne Porter School. After a planting demonstration given by Texas A&M Forest Service and a large group planting along the banks of the Blanco, 10 small groups formed and headed out to plant 201 trees at 50 home sites all across Wimberley.

VOLUNTEERS PLANT ALONG THE BANKS OF THE BLANCO RIVER.

Once all of the trees were in the group, the volunteers joined our partners and residents of Wimberley for an incredible feast prepared by La Cucina di Afrodita. Dinner was served in four courses and featured a dozen dishes, with a delicious selection of beer donated by Karbach Brewing Company.

CHEFS LAURA AND JUSTIN SPENT 3 FULL DAYS MAKING OUR COMMUNITY FEAST.

After dinner, RETREETers retired to Cypress Creek Cottages for a relaxing soak in their plethora of hot tubs. They enjoyed breakfast together the next morning before taking a bike ride. What an impactful, enjoyable weekend. We can't wait to see everyone again on our next RETREET!

WIMBERLEY RETREET II PLANTING GROUP.