Million Trees Miami receives $100,000 to help make Miami-Dade County Greener and Healthier for Residents
Grants from Partners in Places and Health Foundation to benefit Little Havana and Miami Gardens
(MIAMI, October 17, 2014) - Million Trees Miami, an initiative of the Miami-Dade Community Image Advisory Board (CIAB), has been awarded a $50,000 grant from Partners for Places – a project of the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, and its partner, the Urban Sustainability Directors Network. Health Foundation of South Florida matched the $50,000 grant to support its Healthy Community Partnerships’ program with the neighborhood of Little Havana and the City of Miami Gardens by cultivating shaded open spaces that promote physical activity.
“I am grateful to the CIAB and its generous partners, Partners for Places and the Health Foundation of South Florida, supporting the great work of the Million Trees Miami program,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “With this public-private partnership, Miami-Dade County is building a greener, more prosperous, and healthier community and advancing GreenPrint, our community-wide sustainability plan.”
“With this grant, we will be planting more than 200 trees in two tree-deprived communities,” said CIAB Chairman and Miami-Dade District 9 Commissioner Dennis C. Moss. “By increasing the shade, we can promote more physical activity in these key areas.”
The trees will help Little Havana and Miami Gardens, the inaugural communities in Health Foundation’s $7.5 million (over a six-year period) Healthy Community Partnerships initiative, to encourage residents to increase physical activity in a shaded, more conducive to exercise environment. The Foundation launched the initiative this year to improve the health and well-being of residents in those communities through sustainable, evidence-based strategies.
“By increasing physical activity among residents in Little Havana and Miami Gardens, the Partnership aims to reduce the prevalence of obesity and related diseases,” said Health Foundation of South Florida President & CEO Steven Marcus, Ed.D. “New research shows that the built environment, including trees and greenery, influences behavior.”
CIAB launched the Million Trees Miami initiative in 2010 with the intent of empowering individuals and organizations to plant trees to ultimately reach a 30 percent tree canopy by 2020. According to recent studies, the Miami-Dade existing tree canopy is about 14 percent.
“Partnerships between governments and philanthropic organizations allow local leaders to test innovative approaches to complex challenges. These grants will help mayors and cities take action on environmental issues and improve the life and health of their residents. During my time in City Hall, public-private partnerships had a major impact on New York City's sustainability efforts, helping us to cut our greenhouse gas emissions by 19 percent, while also making our air cleaner than it has been in more than 50 years,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Partners for Places is a successful matching grant program that improves U.S. and Canadian communities by building partnerships between local government sustainability leaders and place—based foundations. National funders invest in local projects developed through these partnerships to promote a healthy environment, a strong economy and well—being for all residents. Through these investments, Partners for Places fosters long—term relationships that make our communities more prosperous, livable and vibrant.
To date, Partners for Places has awarded $2,034,750 and funded 39 projects across North America. For more information, visit http://www.fundersnetwork.org./participate/green-building/local-sustainability-matching-fund
About the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities: The Funders’ Network exists to inspire, strengthen and expand funding and philanthropic leadership that yield environmentally sustainable, socially equitable, and economically prosperous regions and communities. The vision of the Funders' Network is to be the leading resource in philanthropy for interdisciplinary and transformative thinking and action that gives all people the opportunity to live in more environmentally sustainable, socially equitable and economically prosperous regions and communities.
About The Urban Sustainability Directors Network:
The Urban Sustainability Directors Network is a North American peer-to-peer network of 100 plus municipal sustainability directors who support each other in advancing the practice of urban sustainability.
About Million Trees Miami and the CIAB:
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. Launched by the Miami-Dade County Community Image Advisory Board, this campaign promotes a healthy and sustainable urban forest to achieve social, economic and environmental benefits. To find out how to participate in the campaign, visit: milliontrees.miamidade.gov. The CIAB is a multi-jurisdictional collaborative dedicated to creating beautiful gateways, corridors and connections through cleaning and greening investments. Visit: miamidade.gov/parks/community-image.asp for more information.
About Health Foundation of South Florida:
Health Foundation of South Florida, a nonprofit grantmaking organization, is dedicated to improving health in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. By advancing health solutions, the Foundation makes a measurable and sustainable impact in ensuring access to affordable, quality health services for all residents. Since 1993, the Foundation awarded more than $106 million in grants and program support. For more information, please call 305-374-7200 or see their website, www.hfsf.org
About the Miami-Dade Office of Sustainability:
The Office of Sustainability collaborates with County agencies, business groups, nonprofit organizations and other partners to protect and enhance Miami-Dade’s distinct environmental quality and livability. Additionally, the Office leads the implementation of the community-wide sustainability plan, GreenPrint. The plan sets the framework to inspire, inform, and enable our communities to improve their quality of life and increase economic prosperity through environmental responsibility.