Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

It’s possible you’ve been walking alongside East Side Lake and not paid much attention to the trees along the way. Or maybe you saw the tags affixed to the trees and wondered about the QR codes printed there.

You know what? Take your phone out, scan that code and take the opportunity to learn about the world around you. It’s a truly fascinating place.

Over 35 years, Spruce Up Austin has done extraordinary work to further green up Austin with the addition of trees throughout the community. The Mike Ruzek Tree Trek is no different and worth the time to consider the nature we pass every day.

The Tree Trek has several varieties of trees to learn about and provides the added incentive of possibly planting trees of your own on your property.

But the idea can really be expanded to something that can be substantial on its own. The more we learn about the world around us, the more we learn about our planet and we can then value the importance of nature.

Tree Trek helps do that. By driving that appreciation of the nature we walk in every day, the more we can appreciate our place in that balance and maybe can understand a little more our own obligations to care for our planet.

On a more base level, a stroll past the Tree Trek, located along the eastern shore of East Side Lake, is a pleasant walk on a pleasant day and that is one of SUA’s premiere goals. To make this community a place we want to be out in and enjoying.

The walk isn’t a long one, but it’s an enjoyable one and worth the break from work or everyday life. Getting out in these situations is healthy. It’s good for us.

While SUA and its members should rightfully be lauded for their work, that effort is made possible by the people and organizations that choose to support Spruce Up Austin. That is just as important as the tree going to ground.

Without that community spirit, the good deeds that SUA perform each year become that much more difficult and perhaps Austin is a much different place.

All of this taken together is a promising reminder of how much can be accomplished when a community comes together and helps in whatever way it can — either by picking up a shovel, donating or volunteering to care for the planted trees.

Anything we can do to continue to spruce up Austin is another step in making our community the place to be.