Miami-Dade County passes resolution to work with schools on increasing tree canopy

Miami-Dade County is entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Miami-Dade County Public School Board to increase tree canopy and improve the resilience of the county. On April 4, the Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution to ratify the agreement with the Miami-Dade County Public School Board in support of both entities working together to reach the county’s goal of a 30 percent tree canopy. The county will provide up to $200,000 for tree acquisition, planting and maintenance. 

“Growing our tree canopy to 30 percent coverage will lead to a greener, healthier, resilient and future ready community,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “We must ramp up our efforts to  keep our neighborhoods cool and shady, and to protect our communities from extreme heat that affects some of our most vulnerable residents. Every resident has the right to a beautiful and green neighborhood and that’s why we are targeting our urban heat islands for tree planting efforts first.”

The County has a long-standing commitment to preserving and enhancing its tree canopy through regulatory measures such as the tree protection ordinance and landscape code, County planting and protection initiatives in parks, Environmentally Endangered Lands (EELs), and tree giveaways through the Adopt a Tree and Neat Streets programs.

“As the largest district in Florida with schools located across the County, we are happy to partner with Miami-Dade County on this endeavor,” said Dr. Jose L. Dotres, Superintendent of Schools. “Through our collective efforts, we look forward to this initiative which enhances our community with needed and distributed tree canopy providing cooler, shadier and more comfortable spaces in our communities for all residents, including our future leaders, our students.”

In 2021, the County released an updated Urban Tree Canopy Assessment Report through the Neat Streets program. According to the report:

•    the overall tree canopy within the county’s urban development boundary (UDB) was 20.1 percent and that no statistically significant difference from a previous report in 2016 was measured, demonstrating that the overall tree canopy has not significantly changed for the study area; 
•    the existing tree canopy in unincorporated areas of Miami-Dade County declined by over three percent;
•    half of the 34 municipalities in the county experienced a decrease in existing urban tree canopy as well; 
•    increases in surface temperature could be observed from 2016 to 2020 at locations where tree canopy was replaced by pervious or impervious surfaces, or where pervious surfaces were replaced by impervious surfaces.

“Trees are critical to the health of our community,” said Miami-Dade County Chief Heat Officer Jane Gilbert. “Research tells us that lower-income census blocks tend to have lower levels of tree canopy and that zip codes with a higher percentage of existing urban tree canopy tend to have fewer respiratory- related illnesses and overall hospitalization rates.”

The goal of 30 percent tree canopy is incorporated into and supported by the County’s Comprehensive Development Master Plan, Climate Action Strategy, Extreme Heat Action Plan, and Street Tree Master Plan.