A collective effort to improve our environment for people and nature.
DELRAY BEACH TO PLANT 10,000 TREES
The City of Delray Beach launched a Tree Planting Program to plant 10,000 trees by 2025. The City is partnering with Community Greening to add 2,000 trees in the first year at parks, schools, public green spaces, churches and homes. “We are excited to take this first step towards our goal of planting 10,000 trees in the next five years,” said Sam Metott, the Director of Parks and Recreation. “Big goals require teamwork and we are excited to be partnering with Community Greening on this project.”
The five year program aims to increase the city’s tree canopy from 23% to 28%. “The city’s tree planting program is a big win for all residents of Delray Beach,” said Community Greening co-founder, Mark Cassini. “This is the result of the hard work of many people advocating for more trees in our community. The city’s investment in our green infrastructure will have many benefits including cooling and cleaning our air, reducing flooding, and beautifying our neighborhoods. We hope the City of Delray Beach’s tree planting program encourages neighboring municipalities to start one of their own.”
TREES IN TRUNKS FOR BOCA
The City of Boca Raton's Beautification Committee funded a "Trees in Trunks" socially-distanced tree giveaway. The cars lined up at Sand Pine Park to receive one fruit tree (mango "Julie" or mulberry "ever-bearing") and one Florida native tree (Southern red cedar or wild tamarind). The Beautification Committee's mission is to promote higher standards of landscape design, encourage an increase in the City’s tree canopy, and educate residents in the proper selection, pruning and care of trees. At the tree giveaway, the Youth Tree Team loaded trees and planting instructions in the treecipients' trunks. Thank you DJ Dady Phatts for providing the music and good times. There's nothing like seeing a driver dance to the Macarena as they wait for their free trees!
THE FUTURE
The Youth Tree Team has been busy planting and maintaining the trees in our community. Under the leadership of Community Forester Dondre McCrary, they are planting trees in residential yards in the Heart of Boynton, maintaining the urban orchards, and weeding and mulching trees in public parks from Delray Beach to West Palm Beach. This 10 week program, funded by the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County, gives teens their first work experience, nurtures a connection to nature, and exposes them to green career paths most of us wish we knew about at their age. It is refreshing to see their positivity and teamwork while working hard to improve our neighborhoods. Thank you Prince, Aiyana and Ford! This program has a lot of potential for expansion, and we look forward to providing this opportunity to more teens next summer. Thank you Ben Rusnak for the beautiful pictures. Click here for more pictures
MEET A TREE
“I absolutely love this new urban orchard and Sara Sims Park. Today I saw all races coming together for our community. I can’t wait to come with my son and pick fresh fruits!"
Felicia Hester - Assistant Director for Bridges at Boynton Beach with "New Beginnings" the Mulberry tree
PARTNER APPRECIATION
In July, we kicked off a new grant cycle partnering with the Florida Forest Service to increase the impact of urban forestry in South Florida. As part of this grant, we work with Florida municipalities to highlight the benefits of tree canopy assessments, tree rooting space, tree planting and tree care initiatives, urban orchards, bioswales, tree inventories and urban forestry management plans. New to this year's grant, we will be promoting green industry workforce development by engaging and educating students and volunteers about tree planting, tree maintenance, and potential careers in arboriculture and other related disciplines. This partnership creates even more partnerships to expand and connect the urban forest of South Florida. Thank you!
GIVING TO COMMUNITY GREENING HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER
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