McAllen city leaders hosted a community planting event at the McAllen Public Library for what they call a tiny forest.

This is the sixth one the city has planted over the years.

"Over a thousand, native Rio Grande Valley plants and trees that are going to attract bees, butterflies, animals and most importantly the youth and the kids here from McAllen," McAllen Communications Director Xochitl Mora said.

City leaders say a benefit of this tiny forest being near the library is that kids can check out books to teach them more about native plants.

"It's very important that we have people learn, not just from books, but also from nature. We want people to be inside, we want people to be outside. This is a great way to learn about all the native plants that we have here," McAllen Public Library Advisory Board President Dr. Joseph Ryan said.

It was sponsored by HEB, who helped with a more than $35,000 investment. The city says they have many more tiny forest planned.