Environmental Resources Management

About the Adopt-a-Tree Program

Miami-Dade County, long known for its famous beaches and warm winters, is surprisingly lacking in any significant tree cover. A 1996 tree cover analysis by the non-profit group American Forests showed that Miami-Dade's urban areas averaged only 10% tree cover.

There was concern about the additional loss of shade trees caused by the removal of citrus canker impacted trees and in the fall of 2000, Environmental Resources Management petitioned the Florida Department of Agriculture for money to begin restoring the communal loss of additional shade.

The Adopt-a-Tree Program resulted from the input of community groups, agricultural interests, and government agencies seeking to heal from this loss. The first Adopt-a-Tree event took place in July 2001, and since then, this program has been working to foster a heightened awareness of the value of shade trees here in Miami-Dade County.

The program is designed to strengthen the condition of our community's tree canopy. Therefore, the trees selected for "adoption" are ones that make good shade trees in their adulthood. The program provides both native "ornamental" shade trees and a variety of non-citrus fruit trees.

Since Adopt-a-Tree's inception in 2001, 163,937 trees have been distributed to Miami-Dade County residents. The chart below illustrates the yearly breakdown of adopted trees.