Boca Raton, FL – The City of Boca Raton has been recognized as a Tree City USA for the 43rd consecutive year by the National Arbor Day Foundation, which promotes the benefit trees bring to urban environments. Along with the designation, Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, with the City’s Sustainability Manager Lindsey Roland Nieratka, declared April 28, 2023, as Arbor Day in Boca Raton with a proclamation.
The Tree City USA program, which began in 1976, provides communities with a four-step framework to maintain and grow their tree cover and has since recognized more than 3,600 communities from across the county. To earn the Tree City USA designation, the City must have a current tree board or department, a tree care ordinance, a community forestry program with a minimum annual budget, and an annual Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
Boca Raton was the first city in the U.S. to adopt a tree protection ordinance in 1965 – 11 years prior to the creation of the Tree City USA program. Since then, the City has continued a strong commitment to its tree canopy through leadership, policy, and community outreach. Popular efforts include:
- Tree Give Aways
The City's Sustainability Action Plan promotes increasing tree canopy with periodic opportunities for residents to receive free trees from the City to plant on their own properties.
- Sustainable Tree Maintenance Guide
The Guide helps better protect the City’s urban tree canopy and ensure long-term enjoyment of the benefit of trees by providing residents tips on choosing species to plant, best practices for planting, pruning, and maintaining, and more.
This year, the City is also partnering with Community Greening, a collective effort to improve the environment for people and nature, for an Arbor Day Tree Planting at Spanish River Athletic Complex on April 30, 2023.
“Trees provide so many benefits to our resident by reducing heat, capturing stormwater, and cleaning the air,” said Sustainability Manager Lindsey Roland Nieratka. “The City is always looking for ways to provide residents with the resources and information they need to support tree canopy at their homes and in their neighborhoods.”
For more information, related programs, and to view the Sustainable Tree Maintenance Guide, visit the City’s Tree Canopy webpage.
