Adopt-a-Tree

The Adopt-a-Tree program provides Miami-Dade County single-family and duplex homeowners with up to two free trees every year. Since the program's inception in 2001, more than 250,000 trees have been distributed throughout Miami-Dade County.

The Adopt-a-Tree program celebrated a banner year in 2025; surpassing the quarter-million mark this year. This achievement was made possible by continuing community support for the program.

RER-DERM recognizes its 2025 host partners:

Miami Central Senior High School
Kaseya Center
Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center

If you adopted trees and haven’t planted them in the ground at your home, do so immediately to help increase their chances of survival. The trees are offered as-is, where-is, and with no expressed or implied guarantees.

Watch this video to find the best spot so they thrive for years to come.

Planting a tree provides many benefits:

Reduces air-conditioning costs by providing shade
Improves a home's appearance, which can help to increase a property's real estate value
Provides a natural habitat for wildlife
Reduces flooding by absorbing excess rainwater and increasing infiltration
Removes significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the air, which reduces the impact on climate change

- Participants must present photo identification, i.e. a driver's license, with the residential property address indicated on the identification. Other forms of identification containing property address information, like a utility bill, are also accepted as long as a photo ID is also presented
- Qualifying residential properties include single family and duplex properties (with some exceptions - see below)
- Duplex properties have one folio number (and they are on one piece of property); therefore, duplex residential properties will only receive two trees per year, which is the same as all other residential properties
- Participants are eligible for two free trees each Adopt-a-Tree season
- If the participant rents the property, they must present a photocopy of the property owner's identification and written authorization to plant the trees. The Adopt-a-Tree program will retain the authorization
- Participants picking up trees for a family member who is the property owner must present their identification, along with a photocopy of the property owner's identification and written authorization from the property owner. The Adopt-a-Tree program will retain the authorization
- Participants who have recently purchased a residential property should bring the bill of sale (a.k.a. HUD1), because the purchase transaction may not yet appear in the County’s records
- Apartment buildings and trailer parks do not qualify for the Adopt-a-Tree program
- Condominium owners are not eligible to receive trees. However, if a condo owner obtains written authorization from the condo board to plant the tree(s) in a designated common area (defined by a site plan), they may present such authorization and obtain trees. Adopt-a-Tree program will retain authorization
- Townhomes that have common areas owned by the association must obtain written authorization from the condo board to plant the tree(s) in a designated common area (defined by a site plan) and they must present such authorization to receive trees. The Adopt-a-Tree program will retain authorization
- Property owners who have a public records exemption filed on their properties must provide their folio numbers and register in-person at the event to be eligible for tree adoption
Tree quantities are limited at each event and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for your organization to be part of the Adopt-a-Tree program, which is one of the most popular green events in South Florida.

Adopt-a-Tree is marketed to more than 150,000 residents each year and educates more than 6,000 participants about trees and their benefits.

As a sponsor, your organization will receive three months of exposure throughout Miami-Dade County and an online presence and promotion on the Miami-Dade County website.

Different levels of sponsorships, including in-kind, are available with a variety of benefits and opportunities to meet your organization's needs. Sponsorship packages can also be tailored to meet your marketing goals and fit your budget.

For more information, please call 305-372-6710 or email [email protected].
The Adopt-a-Tree program could not have achieved its many milestones without the extraordinary support of its partners and sponsors. We thank the organizations listed below:

Cox Media Group
Cox Media Group will be partnering with the Adopt-a-Tree Program to help promote on the radio the tree giveaways for 2025.

Edible South Florida
Edible South Florida explores our foods, stories, and community by season. As the trusted voice of the local food movement, they inspire readers to support and celebrate the growers, producers, chefs, restaurants, food and drink artisans, and other culinary businesses in our community.

Dade Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society
Founded in 1982, the Dade Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society promotes the mission of the Florida Native Plant Society through education and conservation activities. We promote the use of native plants in landscapes to support wildlife, enhance native biodiversity, reduce introduction of non-native pest plants, and conserve water. We offer monthly programs which are free and open to the public, field trips, volunteer opportunities, and more.

Miami-Dade Communications Department
The Communications Department helps maintain the Adopt-a-Tree webpage and works with Regulatory and Economic Resources staff to promote the program across various County communications platforms, including MD-TV and social media.

Miami-Dade Cooperative Extension Service
The Miami-Dade Cooperative Extension Service has been providing expert knowledge and education support for the Adopt-a-Tree program, ensuring that the program supplies the highest quality trees for the community. The Extension Service serves as a liaison between research conducted by scientists at the University of Florida and other universities and Miami-Dade County residents. They also provide information and education for growers (agricultural and horticultural), homeowners, youth and those interested in food, nutrition and marine life.

Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department
The Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department will be exchanging non-high-efficiency showerheads for high-efficiency showerheads and incandescent light bulbs for up to three energy-efficient LED (light emitting diode) light bulbs absolutely free, while supplies last.

Miami-Dade Animal Services
Miami-Dade Animal Services will be partnering up with the Adopt-a-Tree Program to also help adopt a shelter pet. The Hope Express will be appearing at the Adopt-a-Tree events where you can not only take home a tree, but, a shelter pet as well.
Miami-Dade County, long known for its famous beaches and warm winters, is surprisingly lacking in significant tree cover. A 2008 tree-cover analysis by the University of Florida and the Division of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) revealed that the County’s urban areas averaged only 12 percent tree cover. In comparison, other urban areas in the country have as much as 35 percent tree cover.

Additionally, there was concern about the loss of shade trees caused by the removal of trees diseased with citrus canker. In the fall of 2000, the County petitioned the Florida Department of Agriculture for funding 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 improve the depleted tree canopy in Miami-Dade County. 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.

The program is designed to strengthen the condition of our community's tree canopy. Therefore, the trees selected for adoption are well adapted to our subtropical climate and provide good shade as they mature. The program provides both native "ornamental" shade trees and a variety of non-citrus fruit trees.

Trees adopted each year:
- 2001 - 5,864
- 2002 - 19,188
- 2003 - 23,239
- 2004 - 18,563
- 2005 - 18,039
- 2006 - 14,938
- 2007 - 13,035
- 2008 - 19,839
- 2009 - 13,222
- 2010 - 11,550
- 2011 - 6,460
- 2012 - 5,328
- 2013 - 7,916
- 2014 - 7,200
- 2015 - 6,450
- 2016 - 6,344
- 2017 - 5,532
- 2018 - 6,594
- 2019 - 7,550
- 2020 – 5,600
- 2021 - 3,090
- 2022 - 7,500
- 2023 - 6,898
- 2024 - 7,000
Total trees adopted: 246,939