A collective effort to improve our environment for people and nature.
COME TOGETHER. RIGHT NOW....AND PLANT TREES
Teens, homeowners and local leaders emerged from their houses and joined together to plant 45 trees in Betty Thomas Park. People were literally giddy to get outside and dance to the music of DJ SoNyce. Thanks to a national grant from TD Tree Days, we partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation and the City of Boynton Beach to add pigeon plums, sugarberries, red maples, live and laurel oaks, Simpson's stoppers and gumbo limbos along the walking path for the runners, rollerskaters and walkers to enjoy. “The City of Boynton Beach just adopted a community-wide goal of planting 3,000 trees per year to increase our tree canopy from 16% to 20% by 2035. We are grateful for TD Tree Days and our partnership with Community Greening to help put our plan into action,” said Rebecca Harvey, the City’s Sustainability Manager.
BY THE NUMBERS
We've been busy! And there's no letting up. 4,003 trees planted in Palm Beach and Broward Counties since we decided to start an urban forestry non-profit in August 2016 until the end of our last fiscal year on June 30, 2020. We have planted the most in our public parks, mostly in Delray Beach, also in Boynton Beach, Deerfield Beach, Lake Worth Beach and West Palm Beach. We have given away 1,140 trees all over South Florida and planted 545 trees in public green spaces and right of ways. We have planted 294 trees on school campuses shading ballfields, courtyards and walking paths. 298 fruit trees in urban orchards free for residents to pick the fresh fruit and 157 at private residences. We are on track to plant an additional 2,500 trees this year. We couldn't have done this without all of your sweat, muscle, advocacy, time and support. Thank you!
CGI FRIDAY!
Do you want to get outside? Meet new people? Improve the community? If so, join us for our CGI Fridays from 3:30PM - 5:30PM to weed, mulch and water the trees we've planted. Our Community Greening Impact Fridays allow us to plant more trees when we have the help of volunteers. A special shoutout to the students of Atlantic High School IB Program and AmeriCorps Palm Beach County for bringing the volunteer spirit and TLC to our trees! So far we've maintained Knowles Park, The Community Grove, and the East and West Lake Ida Retention Areas. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to hear about meeting locations or sign up here to join us at Sara Sims Park.
"Reagan is excited to plant her very first tree with Daddy and Mommy. She named the tree "Candy" because she is hoping that real candy will grow on the tree. She says she can eat some and share the rest with her friends."
- Elizabeth Clark, Mom to Reagan (pictured left with her friend, Tessa, and "Candy" the Barbados cherry)
PARTNER APPRECIATION
US Mortgage Delray Beach office has selected Community Greening to receive a percentage of each loan processed. This generous monthly donation allows Community Greening to plant more trees and provide jobs to local teens. The partnership funds a position on the Youth Tree Team, sponsors the annual golf tournament and supports tree plantings at local schools.
“It is our absolute pleasure to contribute monthly to Community Greening. I personally have followed their work over the past several years and the tremendous impact they are having in our community. The desire to get involved was quite simple for our team, we are a rapidly growing mortgage branch with strong ties to Delray Beach. Forming this partnership provides great opportunity to invest in not only the land we all walk on but the people we all walk with. We truly look forward to the impact our monthly donation will provide and to further assist in the growth of such a great non-profit,” said John Digges, Delray Beach Branch Manager.
“It is humbling to see those who are more fortunate so genuinely committed to making Delray Beach a better place for children and families. John and the Delray Beach Mortgage Team don’t need to do this, but they want to give back to the community and make Delray Beach stronger by improving the environment,” said Community Greening Co-Director Mark Cassini.
1. Follow this link https://bit.ly/2ynOz05
2. Make a $25 donation
3. Receive a dedication certificate via email
DID YOU KNOW?
During heavy rains, trees reduce the risks of flooding.
Lots of raindrops that land on leaves evaporate straight into the air- so less water reaches the ground.
Concrete doesn’t do much to stop or soak up rain. Water runs across the top of pavement, not into it. Trees and soil, on the other hand, can act as a sponge.
Leaves intercept rainfall, slowing the rate that water flows into waterways and reducing the risk canals will overflow
The roots of a tree are also important. They create little passages in the soil as they grow, so when it rains water flows into those instead of flowing straight into canals and streets
The roots also act as a net to hold the soil in place and stop it from washing into streets or waterways
Surface water from nearby areas can also flow into the permeable area around the trees, which further increases the amount of water that can soak away and reduces demand on stormwater drains.
The typical medium-sized tree can intercept as much as 2,380 gallons of rainfall per year
Scientists found that trees soaked up twice as much rain as asphalt, reducing runoff by about 60%
GIVING TO COMMUNITY GREENING HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER
AmazonSmile Charity Lists is a new and meaningful way for you to donate items directly to charitable organizations. With Charity Lists, all charity accounts are verified so you can take the guesswork out of giving and donate worry-free. Click here and search for Community Greening
