What happened: In honor of Arbor Day every year Diamondback Energy donates 100 trees to a local park, with the help of the City of Midland and Keep Midland Beautiful. Diamondback employees volunteer their time to plant these trees alongside the other two organizations.

This year Diamondback volunteers, Keep Midland Beautiful and their tree keepers, and City of Midland workers gathered Friday, April 10th at 9 a.m. to bring 100 new trees to Ulmer Park. This brings the total number of trees donated by Diamondback to Midland parks up to 740.

The big picture: The installation was a wonderful thing to experience. It was a lovely, cloudy morning with cool weather, perfect for a little yard labor. Everyone worked together beautifully while enjoying a meaningful morning off and planting trees very efficiently. The whole planting was completed in one hour, except for the finishing touches the city added to ensure every tree is well supported and irrigated.

Employees brought their children and dogs, giving the space a welcoming, relaxed, familiar atmosphere. This marks Diamondbacks’ twelfth tree planting, and at this point, the employees who give their time to this project treat it as a tradition.

“They have the morning off work so they choose to come here and contribute to this project,” Erin Bailey, leader of this effort and public relations specialist at Diamondback Energy, said.

Go deeper: The tree keepers and Keep Midland Beautiful staff oversaw the effort, ensuring every tree was planted properly to ensure lasting health and growth. Afghan pine, cedar elms, and desert willows were among the trees planted. When asked what they do post-planting, one of the tree keepers shared that they frequently check in on the new saplings as they establish their roots in the new soil.

The City of Midland workers were definitely big players in this project, finalizing the transplant by completing the irrigation, mulching, and installing support for the trees that need it.

One fun tidbit about this planting was the unplanned high-energy music coming from the young ladies at the MUGS complex. The team gathered that morning for practice and, in turn, got a front-row seat to the planting action, while unintentionally providing a peppy playlist for our volunteers.