Reaching for the Trees - with Matt Basile

Reaching for the Trees with Matt Basile

Tuesday, October 27th, 5:00-6:00pm

Lake Park

Which trees do best in Reno’s hot and dry climate? Discover new tree varieties and learn about their care on an after-work walk! As Urban Forester for the City of Reno, Matt Basile oversees, maintains, and cares for 30,000 publicly owned trees. These include trees growing on city property, city rights-of-ways, and within the city parks system.

In Fall 2025, in a partnership between the One Truckee River, the City of Reno, Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful, and Friends of Lake Park, volunteers planted about 15 trees in Lake Park. Selected by Matt Basile, each tree represents a unique species that hadn’t been planted in Reno’s parks before, testing whether they’d be suitable to our warming weather. The planting was successful, and Basile has already begun ordering more of these tree types to plant in other areas of our city.

On our after-work walk, a year after planting, we’ll check in on how Lake Park’s new trees are growing. We’ll discuss which have been most successful – and consider why they might make great additions to your river-friendly yard! We’ll also talk about tree selection, tree maintenance, and answer homeowner questions to help attendees improve the health and resilience of shade-givers around their homes.