Neat-Streets-Miami-Awards-Tree-Matching-Grant-to-Miami-Beach
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov
OFFICE OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS, Tel: 305.673.7575 PRESS RELEASE
Tonya Daniels, E-mail: tonyadaniels@miamibeachfl.gov
Melissa Berthier, E-mail: melissaberthier@miamibeachfl.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2018
Neat Streets Miami Awards Tree Matching Grant to Miami Beach
– As Part of the Initiative to Double the Green on Miami-Dade Streets –
Miami Beach, FL– Miami Beach residents are known for their deeply rooted love for trees and
a greener, lush environment. Thanks to Miami-Dade County and the Neat Streets Miami, which
leverages local resources to enhance the urban forest, North Beach will soon have more trees
to enjoy! Neat Streets Miami awarded the City of Miami Beach a Street Tree Matching Grant in
the amount of $25,000 for its 2018 Hawthorne Avenue Reforestation Project. In its third year,
Neat Streets Miami’s street tree program awarded 14 organizations matching grants to advance
the Million Trees Miami initiative, a community-wide effort to plant one million trees by 2020.
“The Street Tree Matching Grant allows Miami-Dade County to leverage its funds strategically in
order to plant trees along our streets through partnerships with our municipalities and
community organizations,” said Miami-Dade County District 9 Commissioner Dennis C.
Moss. “By incentivizing our partners to plant in underserved neighborhoods with low tree
canopy, we are able to plant in neighborhoods that need these trees the most.”
There are many benefits that come with having a prosperous urban canopy. It has been found
that when sitting under a tree, the temperature can feel up to 35 degrees cooler. The benefits
don’t stop there - trees also help intercept thousands of gallons of urban stormwater runoff,
reduce CO2 conserve electricity, and help improve your health.
“Hurricane Irma resulted in the loss of precious canopy within Miami Beach and we are grateful
for the funds from Neat Streets Miami to help restore our urban forest,” said City Manager,
Jimmy L. Morales. “As part of this project, the city will plant dozens of trees to beautify the North
Beach neighborhood and invite residents to help with ensuring their survival through
supplemental watering.”
Tree species will include Simpson Stoppers (Myrcianthes fragrans), Wild Tamarinds (Lysiloma
bahamensis), Gumbo Limbos (Bursera simaruba), Green Buttonwoods (Conocarpus erectus),
and several other Florida-friendly tree species to provide shade and beautify their community.
Made possible through the County’s Tree Trust Fund, preference was given to areas with low
tree canopy and low-to-moderate income populations, in an attempt to achieve at least 20
percent tree canopy coverage (Miami-Dade County’s average) in all neighborhoods. The 2018
grant funding totals $250,000, a 20 percent increase from last year.
###
About Neat Streets Miami and Million Trees Miami
Launched by Neat Streets Miami, the Million Trees Miami Campaign is a community-wide effort
to plant one million trees by 2020 in order to achieve a 30 percent tree canopy cover for Miami-
Dade County.
About Miami-Dade Parks
Miami-Dade Parks is the third largest county park system in the United States, consisting of 270
parks and 13,573 acres of land. It is one of the most unique park and recreation systems in the
world and focused on Placemaking, Health and Fitness and Conservation and Stewardship. The
non-profit Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade supports Miami-Dade Parks’ efforts to further
develop Miami-Dade County’s world-class parks system for residents and visitors.
To request this material in alternate format, sign language interpreter (five-day notice required), information on access for persons with disabilities, and/or any accommodation to review any document or participate in any
city-sponsored proceedings, call 305.604.2489 and select 1 for English or 2 for Spanish, then option 6; TTY users may call via 711 (Florida Relay Service).